Problem
Military action loses direction when leaders separate war from politics.
Action
Define the political purpose before choosing military action.
Outcome
Military effort supports the result that political leaders seek.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - The Nature of Politics and War
Problem
A false view of war leads to unsuitable plans.
Action
Examine who is using force and what they want to compel others to do.
Outcome
The strategy reflects the actual nature of the conflict.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - Further Defining War
Problem
Different political entities respond to force in different ways.
Action
Study how each entity gains authority and makes decisions.
Outcome
The strategy targets the forces that shape enemy behavior.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - The Nature of War-Making Political Entities
Problem
Geography limits where power can move and operate.
Action
Build the strategy around terrain, distance, climate, and access.
Outcome
The chosen actions remain possible under physical conditions.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - Strategic Constants and Norms - The Physical Environment
Problem
A society's history and values shape its conduct in war.
Action
Study how the population understands sacrifice, authority, and victory.
Outcome
The strategy better predicts national choices and reactions.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - Strategic Constants and Norms - National Character
Problem
War changes relationships beyond the immediate opponents.
Action
Consider how military action will affect other states and institutions.
Outcome
The strategy avoids creating wider political harm.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - Strategic Constants and Norms - War and the State
Problem
Growing power often causes other states to unite against it.
Action
Estimate how each major action could change alliances and rivalries.
Outcome
The strategy reduces hostile reactions to shifts in power.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - Strategic Constants and Norms - The Balance of Power Mechanism
Problem
War changes through the interaction of passion, chance, and reason.
Action
Align public support, military judgment, and political control.
Outcome
The strategy remains connected to the forces that drive war.
Chapter: The Strategic Environment - The Trinity
Problem
Separate national efforts can work against one another.
Action
Combine political, economic, informational, and military means into a single strategy.
Outcome
Every instrument supports the same national purpose.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - National Strategy
Problem
Leaders may demand victory without defining an acceptable result.
Action
State what must survive and what conditions will count as victory.
Outcome
Decision makers can judge whether continued effort is necessary.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Ends in National Strategy - Survival and Victory
Problem
Vague political goals produce unfocused military action.
Action
Describe the political condition that the strategy must create.
Outcome
Military and civilian efforts gain a clear direction.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Ends in National Strategy - Political Objectives
Problem
Military force cannot solve every political problem.
Action
Choose the instruments of national power that can best influence the target.
Outcome
The state uses its resources where they have the greatest effect.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Means in National Strategy
Problem
Objectives become unrealistic when available resources cannot achieve them.
Action
Adjust the objective or increase the means until they match.
Outcome
The strategy becomes achievable at an acceptable cost.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Adapting Ends to Means, and Vice Versa
Problem
Military success has little value when it does not produce political progress.
Action
Define the military conditions required to achieve the political objective.
Outcome
Operational success contributes directly to the desired peace.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Ends in Military Strategy - Relationship Between Political and Military Objectives
Problem
Different enemies require different ways of breaking their resistance.
Action
Choose erosion to exhaust the enemy's will or annihilation to destroy the enemy's capacity.
Outcome
Military effort attacks the source of resistance most relevant to victory.
Chapter: Strategy: Ends and Means - Ends in Military Strategy - Distinguishing Between Erosion and Annihilation Strategies
Problem
Pure defense gives the enemy freedom, while constant offense can waste strength.
Action
Use defense to preserve advantages and offense to create decisive change.
Outcome
The strategy protects essential interests while pursuing its objective.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Defensive and Offensive Strategies
Problem
Matching an enemy's strengths can cause unnecessary losses.
Action
Attack through methods or domains where the enemy is less prepared.
Outcome
Available strength produces a greater effect against enemy weakness.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Strategies
Problem
Threats fail when an opponent doubts their cost or execution.
Action
Show that aggression will be denied or answered with unacceptable harm.
Outcome
The opponent has a strong reason to avoid the threatened action.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Deterrence: Strategies of Reprisal or Denial
Problem
A standard response can ignore decisive features of a conflict.
Action
Adapt the strategy to the opponent, objective, environment, and available means.
Outcome
The approach meets the conditions for success.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Standardized or Tailored Strategies
Problem
Unconnected decisions can become a strategy by default.
Action
Link each major action to an explicit objective and concept.
Outcome
Events serve a chosen direction instead of shaping it accidentally.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Strategy by Intent or by Default
Problem
A strategy cannot succeed independently of enemy choices.
Action
Test each proposed approach against likely enemy responses.
Outcome
The strategy remains useful when the opponent acts intelligently.
Chapter: Strategic Opposites - Evaluating Opposing Strategies
Problem
A strategy built on weak assumptions misuses national power.
Action
Assess interests, threats, actors, conditions, resources, and likely changes.
Outcome
Strategic choices rest on a realistic view of the environment.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - The Strategy-Making Process - The Strategic Assessment
Problem
Planners cannot select sound actions without a defined political result.
Action
Set a specific political objective before developing the military strategy.
Outcome
Later choices remain tied to the purpose of the conflict.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - The Strategy-Making Process - Political Objectives
Problem
Military objectives fail when forces and resources are insufficient.
Action
Assign enough capable forces to each military objective.
Outcome
Military tasks become feasible within the chosen strategy.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - The Strategy-Making Process - Military Objectives and the Means to Achieve Them
Problem
Objectives and resources alone do not show how success will occur.
Action
Define a strategic concept that connects military action to the desired conditions.
Outcome
Leaders can see and test the logic of the strategy.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - The Strategy-Making Process - Strategic Concepts
Problem
Strategy suffers when political and military expertise remain separate.
Action
Bring authorized civilian and military leaders into continuous strategic dialogue.
Outcome
Political purpose and military judgment shape one coherent strategy.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Who Makes Strategy?
Problem
An unjust war weakens legitimacy and public support.
Action
Test the cause, authority, conduct, and expected harm before using force.
Outcome
The decision to fight gains a stronger moral and political basis.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Just War
Problem
No single weapon or method can solve every strategic problem.
Action
Test favored solutions against the specific enemy and political objective.
Outcome
The strategy avoids dependence on an unsuitable cure.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Strategy-Making Pitfalls - Strategic Panaceas
Problem
A detailed planning process can still produce a weak strategy.
Action
Judge the final strategy by its logic, feasibility, and political value.
Outcome
Planning effort yields a useful decision rather than a mere procedure.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Strategy-Making Pitfalls - Emphasizing Process Over Product
Problem
An early irreversible action can force leaders into an unwanted conflict.
Action
Review major commitments before they remove political alternatives.
Outcome
Leaders retain control over escalation and strategic choice.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Strategy-Making Pitfalls - The Fait Accompli
Problem
A war may expand when opponents assign different values to its stakes.
Action
Assess the limits of the objectives and commitments of every major participant.
Outcome
The strategy better anticipates escalation and required effort.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Strategy-Making Pitfalls - Limited and Unlimited Wars
Problem
Excessive caution loses opportunities while reckless action creates avoidable danger.
Action
Compare the cost of delay with the risk of acting before each major decision.
Outcome
Leaders act at a pace that fits the strategic situation.
Chapter: The Making of Strategy - Strategy-Making Pitfalls - Paralysis and Recklessness