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What has also become commonplace is that kinetic operations - which by themselves have become increasingly complex - are combined with non-military strategies aimed at undermining the security of an antagonist. The combination of military and non-military instruments and strategies is done not randomly but in a synchronised way to achieve synergistic effects. In other words, it is this synchronised fusion that optimises the results. The bottom line is that a particular country can potentially unleash physical force against an adversary to achieve certain goals. But if the use or threat of conventional or unconventional force is combined with and/or preceded by a degree of subversive tools such as cyber-attacks and disinformation, the overall damage inflicted on the antagonist can be optimised.

Assistant Secretary of Defense Christopher P. Maier Addresses Crucial Role of Irregular Warfare at the Semi-Annual Irregular Warfare Forum Dec. 5, 2023   Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, Christopher P. Maier, delivered a ...

Strategic Disruption by Special Operations Forces A Concept for Proactive Campaigning Short of Traditional War by Eric Robinson, Timothy R. Heath, Gabrielle Tarini, Daniel Egel, Mace Moesner IV, Christian Curriden, Derek Grossman, Sale Lilly   Researchers from RAND ...

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND THE SHADOWY PROMISE OF IRREGULAR CAMPAIGNS BRIAN PETIT NOVEMBER 21, 2023   American special operations forces, 70,000 strong and drawn from four services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps), are engaged on a dizzying number of fronts. These ...