The Strategic Process: Considerations for Policy and Strategy in Southwest Asia.

This memorandum examines the interrationship of the political objectives, security policy, and military strategy as it pertains to achieving US national interests in Southwest Asia. The author reviews the major differences between Force Development Planning and Operational Planning and postulates that a lack of understanding of these differences among policymakers and strategists causes disconnects among objectives, policies, and strategy. He, then, introduces and discusses six strategic guidelines that have the potential to mitigate the adverse strategic effect of disconnects in the strategic process in the context of Southwest Asia. The author concludes that potential policy-strategy disconnects could constrain the United States should military force be needed to secure US national interests in Southwest Asia. (Author)