Published: 1 September 2008
Air & Space Power
Journal - Fall 2008
Making Twenty-First-Century Strategy: An Introduction to Modern National
Security Processes and Problems by Dennis M. Drew and Donald M. Snow. Air
University Press (http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/aul/ aupress), 131 West Shumacher
Avenue, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 36112-5962, 2006, 290 pages, $24.00 (softcover).
Available free from
http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/aul/aupress/Books/Drew_Snow/DrewSnow.pdf.
“The
strategy process is, in its basic form, a straightforward and sequential
decision-making exercise. The simplicity of the process masks the difficulty of
the decisions and the dilemmas that bedevil strategists” (p. 191). In their
latest publication, retired Air Force colonel Dennis M. Drew and Prof. Donald M.
Snow, recently retired from the University of Alabama, have scored another
remarkable success in their long and distinguished collaboration. They have met
and surpassed the challenge to divine the difficult decisions and dilemmas
facing the people who develop and implement military strategy in the United
States.
The authors begin their book with a crisp summary of military strategy and
war between the eighteenth and late twentieth centuries to show that although
the practices of warfare have varied across time, the nature of war does not
change. Thus the fundamental functions performed by strategists —developing,
deploying, and orchestrating the use of military forces—have remained intact.
This observation serves as a unifying thread throughout the book.
Drew and
Snow turn quickly to an overview of the strategy process to examine five
decision steps that influence and shape the formulation and execution of
strategy: (1) determining national objectives, (2) formulating grand strategy,
(3) developing military strategy (a level of inquiry some authors refer to as
“national strategy”), (4) developing operational strategy, and (5) formulating
battlefield strategy (tactics). They conclude the chapter by offering a model of
the strategy process, acknowledging that many factors influencing military
strategy often reside outside the control of even the most skilled strategists
of war. (They discuss these factors in detail in chap. 10.)
Among the many
superb sections in the book, Drew and Snow examine at length the inextricable
connection between the political and military dimensions of war by devoting no
fewer than seven of 14 chapters to this subject. Most books on military strategy
readily recognize this interconnectedness, but the authors examine every aspect
of this relationship in a sharp, crisp fashion, leaving no stone unturned. They
explore the American actors and institutions that define and shape strategy and
the instruments of national power used to secure national objectives in a
setting influenced by the unique characteristics of the American grand-strategy
process.
Their discussion of the military dimension of strategy is notable
for its inclusiveness. Drew and Snow provide a rich examination of the elements
of military strategy (force employment, force development, force deployment, and
force coordination), combined and joint campaign warfare, and the influence of
service views on operational strategy. (They discuss service worldviews and
doctrine at greater length in chap. 11.) They also include in this discussion an
interesting section about basic approaches for designing operational strategy
that should prove useful as a starting point for students of campaign planning.
Their chapter on strategies for asymmetrical warfare is particularly insightful
in light of the many challenges facing the United States due to insurgencies:
new internal wars, a subset of insurgencies developed by Snow in an earlier book
(UnCivil Wars: International Security and the New Internal Conflicts [Lynne
Rienner Publishers, 1996]); fourth-generation warfare; and terrorism. Although
the end of the Cold War dramatically reduced the threat of a nuclear holocaust,
the authors have nevertheless included a chapter on the continuing relevance of
nuclear strategy in the twenty-first century. That section addresses nearly
every major concept of nuclear strategy, but it may be too basic for readers who
have an intermediate or higher knowledge of military affairs.
The book concludes with three chapters which examine dilemmas that pose intriguing and at times vexing questions for contemporary strategists. For whom and what do we prepare? How do we deal with problems caused by the current operations tempo and an all-volunteer force? How do civilian decision makers and military leaders deal with an omnipresent news media that can either rally support for military operations or turn public opinion against them? Why has the United States had a historic lack of success with asymmetrical warfare? How can we better wage this form of warfare? What desired outcomes do we seek from involvement in asymmetrical warfare? What interests merit US military engagement abroad?
Drew and Snow have succeeded in examining a complex and difficult subject in a comprehensive book that should be read by officer candidates and officers attending both basic and intermediate developmental education. Making Twenty-First-Century Strategy is well written, logical, and timely. The numerous historical examples cited by the authors to illustrate concepts and ideas are readily accessible and relevant. In this reviewer’s judgment, only one area does not receive adequate examination: cyber warfare. Although Drew and Snow make note of it in several passages, they do not explore the subject in depth. Given the emerging importance of cyberspace in twenty-first-century warfare, it warrants study along with the ground, maritime, air, and space arenas of war.
Dr. Charles E. Costanzo, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Retired
Maxwell AFB, Alabama
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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