Author: Prof John R Martin
One of the basics of strategy is understanding the foe and the type of war in which a nation is involved. Perhaps even more basic than that is the seemingly simple requirement to understand that the nation is at war. The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) does not fit easily into the mold of war, but that is because of too much comparison with conventional wars; the Cold War may provide a better model. The United States--especially the government, but also the people--need to focus more fully on prosecuting the GWOT, but there is no requirement for the full mobilization seen in World War II. This report chronicles the panels and resulting papers from the Seventeenth Annual U.S. Army War College Strategy Conference, held at Carlisle Barracks, PA, in April 2006.