The "Rumsfeld Doctrine", named after former

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

, is a phrase coined by journalists concerned with the perceived transformation of the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

. It would be considered Rumsfeld's own take on RMA ( revolution in military affairs). It seeks to increase force readiness and decrease the amount of supply required to maintain forces, by reducing the number in a theater. This is done mainly by using LAVs ( Light Armored Vehicles) to scout for enemies who are then destroyed via

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

s. The basic tenets of this military strategy are: * High-technology combat systems; * Reliance on air forces; * Small, nimble ground forces. The early phases of the wars in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

are considered the two closest implementations of this doctrine.

Response

Opponents argue that the doctrine entails a heavy reliance on airstrikes to replace a lack of ground forces. Beginning with

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

, there were at least 50 airstrikes aimed at decapitating the Iraqi government. Not a single one was successful. However, there were extensive civilian casualties. This was coined the " shock and awe" military campaign.Operation Iraqi Freedom - By the Numbers
, USCENTAF, April 30, 2003, 15. Opponents also claim that without ground troops to secure the border, top

Ba'athist Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology ...

regime members fled the country with vast Iraqi funds and foreign

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

moved into the country. There were not enough troops to defend the Iraqi border from foreign-backed insurgents.Operation Iraqi Freedom - By the Numbers
, USCENTAF, April 30, 2003, 15. They also claim that without sufficient troops the country could not be pacified. Without sufficient troops to guard Iraqi military infrastructure, large amounts of munitions were looted. This has led to the current problem of insurgents and their improvised explosive devices ( IEDs).

Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman ( ; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' has referred to the Rumsfeld Doctrine as one of "just enough troops to lose". That said, the war plan for the Iraq War led to a quick and decisive victory over one of the region's largest and best equipped military forces. Using tactics honed from those used during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, and Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition's integrated forces strategy overwhelmed the Iraqi defenses using rapid deployment and engagement of military "power" rather than overwhelming them with overwhelming forces, or overwhelming numbers.

References

External links

Bruce Nussbaum Criticism of Rumsfeld Doctrine

Greg Jaffe Take on the Rumsfeld Doctrine
{{Foreign relations of the United States , expanded=DPC Foreign policy doctrines of the United States Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration Donald Rumsfeld

Response

See also

References

External links