Accession Number:

ADA418033

Title:

Rethinking Asymmetric Threats

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

ARMY WAR COLL STRATEGIC STUDIES INST CARLISLE BARRACKS PA

Personal Author(s):

• Blank, Stephen J.

Report Date:

2003-09-01

Pagination or Media Count:

72.0

Abstract:

For the last several years, the U.S. strategic community has used the terms asymmetric and asymmetry to characterize everything from the threats we face to the wars we fight. In doing so, we have twisted these concepts beyond utility, particularly as they relate to the threats we face. As one writer cited here observed, we have reached the point where the German offensives of 1918 are considered asymmetric attacks. Clearly this use of the term asymmetric or of the concept of asymmetry does not help us assess correctly the threats we face. Indeed, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has voiced his discomfort with the term asymmetry, indicating his unease with its use. This monograph presents a substantive critique of those terms insofar as they relate to the threats, not to the nature of war or strategies that might be formulated against us.

Descriptors:

• *THREATS
• *ASYMMETRY
• WARFARE
• UNITED STATES
• STRATEGY
• MILITARY DOCTRINE
• ATTACK

Subject Categories:

• Military Operations, Strategy and Tactics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE