Grand Strategy

The folks over at Volokh Conspiracy were discussing missile defence. A very long discussion which prompted this discourse on WW2 from me:

Exagerated fear of loss is common to humans. We know what we have to lose and underestimate what the opposition has to lose.

You fight a war based on two things: what losses will most quickly cripple an enemy and what does the enemy fear to lose most? The two are often not the same. Take WW2 Japan. They were crippled by loss of oil and transport for raw materials. What they feared to lose most was the Emperor.

Which got me to thinking about our jihadi enemies. What is their operational weakness? What do they fear to lose the most?

So I'm thinking:

What can we do that will impact the enemies war fighting capabilites? Cut off their money supply and degrade their command and control. Militarily we are mainly going after leaders as our offensive phase while defending against ambushes. The Israelis have shown this to be an effective tactic if you can develop the intel.

What do the jihadis fear most to lose? Their honor. Most of all they want their religion respected.

I think the best answer to the honor question is: Mohammed? You are a follower of that old pervert? This could lead to the destruction of Islam or its reformation. The destruction is easy to see. The reformation could come about by acknowledgement that marrying six year olds is not very civilized behavior. Which then opens the gates to questioning lots of other stuff. Separate the good from the bad in light of current standards.

Technorati:
Grand Strategy, Military, Islam, Mohammed, Religion, Honor, Respect, Win, Lose, Enemy, Jihad, Islamic Imperialism, Islamic Fascism, Pervert