ABSTRACT

Sun Tzu The Art of War The precise nature of the order which will eventually emerge from the chaos of war is always unpredictable. Maintaining some semblance of control over war’s inherent chaos is essential if there is to be any hope of influencing the emergent order. Virtually the only way to control the chaos of war is to keep that chaos as brief as possible. While the conduct of war involves all the elements of national power, it is the military element of power which directly confronts the chaos of war. Even when wars drag on for long periods of time the actual chaos of direct military confrontation will generally comprise only a small portion of that time. In long wars most of the time will be spent preparing for and recovering from the chaos of war.