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Younghusband
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Younghusband

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June 1st, 2008

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The Principles of War: 4. Security

This post is part of the Principles of War series. See the introductory post or browse all posts with the principles of war tag.

A sufficient degree of security is essential in order to obtain freedom of action to launch a bold offensive in pursuit of the selected aim. This entails adequate defence of vulnerable bases and other interests which are vital to the nation or the armed forces. Security does not imply undue caution and avoidance of all risks, for bold action is essential to success in war; on the contrary, with security provided for, unexpected developments are unlikely to interfere seriously with the pursuit of a vigorous offensive.

Comments to this entry

Lexington Green
June 2, 2008
6:37 pm
Take a look at David Glantz, Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War. The Soviet approach to security is interesting, seeking to use active deception and concealment to obtain Security, that quiet and hardworking and indispensible sister to the glamorous Goddess of War, Surprise. The Soviet approach treats aggressive reconnaissance at all levels from tactical patrolling to use of secret agents, as part of a continuum with denial of intelligence to the enemy. Glantz's book is an eye-opener about several key episodes in the Great Patriotic War, in particular the deception operations that preceded Operation Bagration in July, 1944.
Ralph Hitchens
June 3, 2008
1:50 pm
Security is probably the foremost principle of war for one side in the "War on Terror" or whatever you want to call the global counterterrorism campaign. Successful terrorists survive by devoting most of their energy and resources to ensuring the security of themselves and their associates. Direct action is correspondingly rare. A good fictional treatment of this is Marge Piercy's novel "Vida," about the Weather Underground.