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Integrated Coercive Strategies and the Role of the Air Component (Krause, 2006)

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Merrick E. Krause

Joint Force Quarterly, 2nd Quarter 2006, Issue 41, p. 68-75

"the key to an effective operational strategy is understanding the mechanisms that effect desired behavior"

Fear and loss... an uncomplicated lens through which to evaluate a variety of stratagems.


 

p.70 the key to an effective operational strategy is understanding the mechanisms that effect desired behavior [JLJ - I could toss everything I have previously written in my paper A Proposed Heuristic and replace it with this statement. The problem is, you now need to discuss specifics, and that is where the details (previously tossed) can be brought back to support realistic attempts to implement this concept in practice]

p.70 Reducing coercion through force to its essence, the military instrument brings about change in an adversary or its leaders' behavior - control in the new parlance - through two fundamental mechanisms: fear and loss.

p.71 The most basic and obvious coercive mechanism, loss is the attrition or depletion of a commodity or item that is valuable to the enemy. This deprivation is typically quantifiable, and measures of merit or effectiveness are often straightforward... the desired effect of a strategy emphasizing loss is reducing, depleting, or wearing down something the enemy leadership values.

p.72 The mechanism that deters aggression is fear - of material loss, death, or loss of power. This mechanism can also help restrain escalation if deterrence proves ineffective.

p.72 attacking/influencing certain targets can produce unintended consequences

p.73 If planned well, a strategy balancing the two mechanisms [JLJ - fear and loss] can generate the commander's desired effects.

p.75 The value of considering fear and loss is that the model gives strategists and decisionmakers an uncomplicated lens through which to evaluate a variety of stratagems... the simple mechanisms of this model help frame what effects are likely and useful in the given strategic environment.

p.75 the art... required to succeed with a coercive strategy lies in the leaders' ability to assess how, when, and where to exert pressure to achieve desired ends.