ABSTRACT
A more difficult matter is that of assimilating the lessons that should have been learned and incorporating them into policy and planning processes. A quick look into one example from history can illustrate the danger of attributing victory to one particular factor or technological advantage and forgetting about the more fundamental "pillars of success" in conflict management. Much has been made of the technological breakthrough represented by the stirrup in tenth and eleventh century warfare in Western Europe. As early as 1066, William Walker the Conqueror took full advantage of the technological superiority that the stirrup provided his cavalry as a type of "launching platform." A legitimacy approach, appropriate instruments of power, and an organizational structure to ensure the achievement of a desired political end state are not radical relics of the Cold War era. These pillars of success are basic foreign policy and military asset management.
