The Strategist’s Short Catechism: Six Questions Without Answers, Philip Crowl

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Subject: The Strategist’s Short Catechism: Six Questions Without Answers, Philip Crowl 1. Purpose. To summarize and critique The Strategist’s Short Catechism: Six Questions Without Answers, Philip Crowl. 2. Discussion. a. Thesis. Strategist must asks questions before they commence a war, or before they take actions which might lead to war, or before they undertake a wartime campaign, or before they end a war in which they are already engaged. b. Main Points. (1) The utility of history in the study of strategy is self-evident. Military strategists have used history for very practical purposes. The findings of the study of military history have yielded varying principles that have contributed to the science that attempts to govern the conduct of war. (2) The laws of war cannot be precisely deduced from history for the obvious reason that history never exactly repeats itself. Certain teachings in the school of history remain constant, but because of change theories of the future are thoroughly presumptive. (3) History helps the strategist ask the right questions to define the problem. The questions, suggested by the history of war and diplomacy, are: What is it about? What is the proper way to go about it? What are the limits of military power? What are the alternatives? How strong is the home front? Does today’s strategy overlook point of difference and exaggerate points of likeness between past and present. 3. Assessment. I find the thesis of this piece conclusive and well supported. Crowl suggest s six questions which, when thoughtfully answered, speak directly to our current understanding of military strategy. Crowl’s questions exhibit elements of Clausewitz, and Jomini, indicative of an absence in bias. Crowl, both a scholar and a practioner, relates each of his asserted questions to historical references (including his own) of success in answer

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