Description:
Among military thinkers it is axiomatic that the purpose of utilizing military force is to realize a political end. According to American military doctrine the finish line of a military campaign is reached when the president no longer needs military tools in order to realize national goals. From the national-strategic end state defined by the president, the military commander deduces the military end state required in order to realize the national end state. Still, the question remains: how is the compatibility between the military action and the desired political result achieved? The focus on military and political end states suggests that there is a near-scientific formula that enables the engineering of a military end state that will, in a cause and effect relationship of sorts, produce the political end state. Moreover, the term “state” implies a new reality, stable and static. The term “end” indicates that the reality that is achieved is a conclusion to the military and political confrontation and allows for an exit strategy. But is this really the case? The purpose of this essay is to examine if these concepts and terms apply in Israel’s case, or if perhaps, at least in some contexts, more modest formulations are warranted. This essay will also examine how to better synchronize the military and political worlds.