Waging submarine warfare
Aggressive preparations by antisubmarine forces may undermine a precarious peace; seemingly prudent precautions in a crisis may have a contrary effect and further intensify the crisis. The maritime strategy and its antisubmarine warfare component are too reminiscent of the beginnings of World War I, when military plans called for a similar early mobilization of forces to insure that if war came they would be fully prepared to fight. It was such aggressive war plans and tight mobilization schedules that pushed a crisis in the Balkans, preceded by two decades of international competition and tension, into world war. Antisubmarine warfare thus lies within a matrix of forward operations, plan for rapid crisis deployments, nuclear weapons, nuclear strategies, military perceptions, and political signaling. The navy is eager to explain how this melange will help end a war on terms favorable to the US. But it is reluctant to explore how this could also precipitate the very war the navy seeks to prevent, and perhaps lead to the use of nuclear weapons. 5 references.
- Research Organization:
- Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC
- OSTI ID:
- 6042677
- Journal Information:
- Bull. At. Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: Bull. At. Sci.; (United States); ISSN BASIA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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