Quote Originally Posted by Norfolk View Post
I put down the first paragraph of a piece where I'm going after three "Peacetime Doctrine" Strategic Theories ("Soft Power", 4GW/5GW, and RMA) that seem to think that Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, and Forrest are either fundamentally wrong or obsolete. I think that they are useful to the extent that they demonstrate areas of negligence or point to areas that require further development in Strategic Thought, but no more. What makes the aforementioned Three Great Military Theorists so great is the simple and basic applicability and usefulness of what they're trying to teach. The newer stuff just doesn't quite cut it there.
You should read Colin Gray's new book Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy. In particular, Maxim 14 "If Thucydides, Sun Tzu, and Clausewitz did not say it, it probably is not worth saying", would be useful for your paper.

Dave