Quote:
What about ‘Effects-Based Operations’? I went to Iraq believing EBO was merely useless, an attempt to build a doctrinal theology around the notion that actions have consequences.6 But in its more radical interpretation EBO advocates a strict planning focus on outcomes isolated from actor or method, and this in turn leads to operational planning that rapidly devolves into a ridiculous essay, a listing of aspirations: ‘let us eliminate corruption, isolate the border, prevent sectarian tension.’ Such aspirations, with no consideration of who must do what by when, are worse than useless; they are damaging because they conceal the need to make hard choices. Therefore, I now believe the EBO concept is not merely useless but actually damaging to our ability to plan realistically and conduct operations.
Personally I find little wrong with this analysis.
