The advent of a new way of war : theory and practice of effects based operations

Abstract

The successful conduct of Operation Iraqi Freedom has led to much publicity and claims of the coming of age of a new way of war known as effects based operations(EBO). However, EBO is not a new concept. It has its roots in strategic thinking of ancient thinkers like Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, and more recents thinkers like Liddell Hard and Giulio Douhet. In practice, the principles of EBO have also been crudely applied from the Second World War onwards. Despite its lack of novelty, there has been resurgent emphasis in EBO after Operation Dessert Storm in the post-Cold war era. The main objective of this resurgence was to consider how a future Dessert Storm might be won in less time and with far fewer troops. Susequently, the thinking evolved into knowing how and where to apply precise force to achieve a rapit and decisive victory.