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p.1 The concept of "strategy" has proven notoriously difficult to define...
strategy is a process, a constant adaptation to shifting conditions and circumstances in a world where chance, uncertainty,
and ambiguity dominate. Moreover, it is a world in which the actions, intentions, and purposes of other participants
remain shadowy and indistinct, taxing the wisdom and intuition of the canniest policymaker. Carl von Clausewitz suggests
that in such an environment, "principles, rules, or even systems" of strategy must always fall short, undermined by the world's
endless complexities. While models and categories may assist analysis, they can offer no
formulas for the successful framing of strategy or conduct of war.
p.17 The implementation of any strategy obviously depends significantly on the... means available.
p.22 Several general points about the making of strategy bear repeating. The first is that those
involved... live in a world of incomplete information. They do not know, in most cases, the strategic intentions and purposes
of other powers, except in the most general sense, and their knowledge of their own side is often deficient... Like
politics, strategy is the art of the possible; but few can discern what is possible.
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