J.C. Wylie.

This is coolbert:

From the "Visions of Empire" blog we have extracts and commentary.

An American military theoretician whom I was not even the slightest familiar with. A man in the same category as a Fuller, a Boyd, a Shaposhnikov?

"J.C. Wylie: American Clausewitz?"

"Much as a single diamond is sifted from tons of worthless gravel and rock, out of the voluminous writings of America’s strategic 'golden age' stands a concise, little-known, and remarkable work: Rear Admiral J.C. Wylie’s 'Military Strategy: A General Theory of Power Control'. The British writer Colin Gray regards Wylie as one of the best strategic thinkers since Clausewitz, though like all of humanity, he still falls short of the Prussian Master."

The four assumptions of Wylie are:

1. "There may be a war, despite all efforts to prevent it."
2. "The aim of war is some measure of control over the enemy."
3. "We cannot predict with certainty the pattern of the war for which we prepare ourselves."
4. "The ultimate determinant in war is the man on the scene with the gun."

"Also notable is Wylie’s observation that strategy comes in two forms: sequential and cumulative.
hypothetical future wars and see if we can apply Power Control effectively."

Those three most probably "flash points" for conflict involving American forces as it exists now to include:

* "U.S. vs China - The most likely flash point for a U.S.-China war is a Chinese invasion and/or blockade of Taiwan in an effort to establish Beijing’s sovereignty over the island."

* "U.S. vs North Korea – Totalitarian regimes are prone to very rash decisions."

* "U.S. vs Iran – Any conflict between the U.S. and Iran would probably concern a U.S. attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program."

NOT so much conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan as conflict involving some "damned fool thing" in the South China Sea? 

As a theoretician Wylie places great emphasis on establishing the initiative and maintaining the initiative? Make the enemy respond to you and not the other way around. CONTROL!

I recommend the Visions of Empire blog without qualification.

coolbert.