Publications

Among military thinkers it is axiomatic that the purpose of utilizing military force is to realize a political end. Clausewitz wrote that the goal of war is to impose one’s political will on the enemy, and for Liddell Hart the goal is “a better state of peace.” Indeed, according to American military doctrine the finish line of a military campaign is reached when the president no longer needs military tools in order to realize national goals. From the national-strategic end state defined by the president, the military commander deduces the military end state required in order to realize the national end state. Still, the question remains: how is the compatibility between the military action and the desired political result achieved?