Carl Von Clausewitz: Hope and Fear

To sample US understanding of Clausewitz, the paper analyzes how US doctrine uses three concepts from On War the dual nature of war, the center of gravity, and the culminating point of victory. The analysis shows how these concepts are superficial in US doctrine compared to On War. The centerpiece of the analysis ties these concepts together using the idea that limited and unlimited war have points of irreconcilability. If these points are violated, the operational commander risks turning war into something alien to its nature. The conclusion is that US doctrine provides a misleading version of Clausewitzs intent. The potential exists for operational commanders to apply poor judgement using these concepts--and this potential is growing worse. Recommendations are made to change basic US military doctrine to improve the operational commanders understanding of Clausewitzs ideas.