Airpower and Spacepower in National Strategy
Length: 1400-1700 words.
Include a cover page and selected bibliography (if required). These items are not included in word count.
Support and develop your position with sound evidence and critical analysis.
Display critical thinking, thorough analysis, and logical argument.
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Develop an essay to address the two part question below:
Part A
Given the NSS coupled with its discussion of the strategy in a regional context, pick a regional security issue within the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and explain how one of the following IR concepts might inform and guide U.S. policy, consistent with the goals and objectives of the NSS (polarity and power transition, democratic peace, international political economy, and international law).
Part B
The INDOPACOM J-5 has established a joint planning group (JPG) tasked with taking a fresh look at the following SCENARIO and being prepared to discuss a recommended multi-domain strategy informed by the contributions of air, space, and cyber power as outlined in the TASK below.
SCENARIO: Consider a scenario where after a short period of strategic warning, a Chinese military operation is in progress to invade Taiwan. Robust diplomatic efforts continue, yet China’s invasion is ongoing. No options or resources have been taken off the table for planning purposes.
TASK: Using concepts of coercion from Air Force Doctrine Publication 3-0, "Operations and Planning," and "Strategies of Coercion: Denial, Punishment, and the Future of Air Power" by Karl Mueller, broadly describe a coercive strategy that would support a US national aim of influencing China to abandon its expansionist goals with respect to Taiwan and return to the status quo ante. Ensure you discuss contributions and considerations for air, space, and cyber power in your coercive strategy. Support and defend your recommended strategy with specific examples or illustrations.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Approximately half of your paper should be allotted to Part A and half to Part B. Your answer may include aspects of a cooperative strategy, but MUST be primarily a coercive strategy. Your response should not reference nor allude to any real-world contingency plan, strategy, or course of action. Your recommended strategy should remain at the strategic level; avoid focusing on operational or tactical details.
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REQUIRED RESOUCES:
National Security Strategy - October 2022.
The National Security Strategy (NSS) is a key strategy document signed by the President of the United States that telegraphs to many internal and external audiences a “grand strategy” for the United States. After having interim national security strategic guidance in place since March 2021, President Biden published his Administration’s National Security Strategy in October 2022:
“The 2022 National Security Strategy outlines how my Administration will seize this decisive decade to advance America’s vital interests, position the United States to outmaneuver our geopolitical competitors, tackle shared challenges, and set our world firmly on a path toward a brighter and more hopeful tomorrow.”
Read the following selection:
Letter of Introduction
Part I: The Competition For What Comes Next, pp. 6-13
Modernizing and Strengthening Our Military, pp. 20-22
Part III: Our Global Priorities pp. 23-27
Part IV: Our Strategy By Region, pp. 37-39
2022 National Defense Strategy. Read entire document (pages 1-22)
The National Defense Strategy (NDS) is nested under the NSS as a supporting strategy document articulating how the military instrument of power plans on supporting the pillars of the NSS. The 2022 NSS focuses on integrated deterrence and the PRC as our pacing challenge with the following defense priorities:
“The strategy identifies four top-level defense priorities that the Department must pursue to strengthen deterrence. First, we will defend the homeland. Second, we will deter strategic attacks against the United States, our Allies, and our partners. Third, we will deter aggression and be prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary. Fourth, to ensure our future military advantage, we will build a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem."
Statement of Admiral John C. Aquilino, U.S. Navy Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Before the Senate Armed Services Committee on U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Posture, 10 March 2022. - Scan.
In addition to the assessments of the strategic environment found in the NSS and NDS that include regional competitors and threats, the USINDOPACOM commander provides a Military Assessment of the Security Challenges in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2022.
*When you place your in-text citation within the answer, please input your page number where you found the information. Example: (Hodges 2003, 176)., Hodges (2003, 176) discussed..., In a 2003 article, Hodges (176) discussed.
The instructor likes a decent amount of in- text citations within the paper. Please site your sources throughout.
OTHER RESOURCES:
https://thestrategybridge(dot)org/the-bridge/2019/9/9/towards-a-better-us-space-strategy-addressing-the-strategy-mismatch
AIRPOWER AND SPACEPOWER IN NATIONAL STRATEGY
Student’s Name
Class Information
Date
1 Introduction
Airpower and spacepower play essential roles in shaping national strategy. Airpower refers to the ability to use military aircraft to control and influence events in the air and on the ground. In contrast, spacepower refers to using satellites and other assets in space to gather intelligence, communicate, navigate, and conduct other military operations (Collin 1999, 8). Air and spacepower can be leveraged to achieve various strategic objectives, such as ensuring security, projecting power, and achieving military advantage. International Law (I.L.) defines the strategic and operational limits of every member country of the United Nations (UNO). Globalization has increased the competition level among countries worldwide, and this increased competition has raised specific security issues in many countries of the world. Regional security issues in the South China Sea are one of the prime issues concerning security and economic and social disturbances.[Collin S. Gray, “Why Strategy Is Difficult ,” Scribd (Scribd, 1999), /document/415729285/Why-Strategy-is-Difficult-Collin-S-Gray.]
2 Discussion and Analysis
Part 1: Regional Security Issue
One concept from international relations that might inform and guide U.S. policy, consistent with the goals and objectives of the National Security Strategy (NSS), is the concept of international law (Edward 2015, 45). International law refers to the rules and norms that govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system, including the UN Charter, international treaties and agreements, customary international law, and general principles of law. International law plays a critical role in shaping U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, where the United States seeks stability, security, and prosperity. The NSS recognizes the importance of a rules-based international order founded on the principles of international law and seeks to promote and defend this order through diplomacy, economic pressure, and military power.[Edward Geist , “Deterrence Stability in the Cyber Age - Air University,” Strategic Studies Quarterly, 2015, /Portals/10/SSQ/documents/Volume-09_Issue-4/Geist.pdf.]
One of the key objectives of the NSS is to strengthen U.S. alliances and partnerships, and international law can play an essential role in this regard. By upholding and defending international law, the United States can demonstrate its commitment to its partners and allies and help to build trust and cooperation in the region. This is particularly important in the Indo-Pacific region, where the United States is working to counter the destabilizing actions of revisionist powers, such as China and North Korea, that challenge the international rules-based order. International law also provides a framework for resolving conflicts and promoting regional stability (Douglas 2016, 25). The United States can use international law to address territorial disputes, such as those in the South China Sea, and promote a peaceful resolution. The United States can also use international law to promote the protection of human rights and the rule of law, which are critical for regional stability and security.[Douglas Lemke, “The Continuation of History: Power Transition Theory and the End of the Cold War,” Journal of Peace Research 34, no. 1 (2016): pp. 23-36, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343397034001003.]
In addition, international law can play a role in shaping U.S. economic policy in the Indo-Pacific region. The NSS recognizes the importance of economic security and prosperity. The United States can use international law to promote fair and open economic competition, reduce economic barriers, and encourage regional investment. The United States can also use international law to address economic security threats, such as intellectual property theft, market access barriers, and cyber theft. Finally, international law can guide U.S. policy on emerging security challenges, such as cyber security, terrorism, and mass destruction (Hooker 2016, 321). The NSS recognizes the need to address these threats, and international law provides a framework for doing so, including through the negotiation of international treaties and agreements, the use of diplomatic and economic pressure, and the deployment of military force, as necessary. America can use international law to strengthen its allies and partnerships, promote the peaceful resolution of issues, frame its economic policy, and tackle emerging security challenges. I.L. can provide an ultimate solution to America’s security and peace-related issues.[R. D. Hooker, “Understanding U.S. Grand Strategy,” Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 2, 2016, /article/2015/07/understanding-u-s-grand-strategy/.]
Cyber power can contribute to the coercive strategy by enabling disruptive operations against China’s military and critical infrastructure networks.
The U.S. could employ cyber operations to disrupt China’s command and control networks, degrade their ability to launch and sustain military operations against Taiwan, and create confusion in their decision-making processes. Cyber power can also defend U.S. and allied networks from Chinese cyber-attacks, ensuring the continuity of military operations and protecting critical information (Dorothy 2015, 11). The recommended strategy should be designed to demonstrate the U.S.’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense and to raise the costs for China of any military action against Taiwan. The strategy should be flexible and scalable, allowing for a rapid and proportional response to any aggression by China. The U.S. should work closely with regional allies and partners, leveraging their capabilities and resources to support the overall effort.[Dorothy E. Denning, “Rethinking the Cyber Domain and Deterrence,” National Defense University Press, April 1, 2015, https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/581864/rethinking-the-cyber-domain-and-deterrence/.]
Part 2: Joint Planning Group
The INDOPACOM J-5 joint planning group (JPG) would be tasked with devising a tactful deterrence plan to threaten China from invading Taiwan. As shown in the figure below, the coercion theory states that force can be used to threaten or hold back an adversary from attacking or damaging something, and deterrence can be used to browbeat the Chinese invasion of Taiwan (Gorr 386) . Indeed, an analysis of China’s present military and power capacity would be required to hold them back from attack; for this reason, JPG would run through a thorough assessment.[Michael Gorr, “Toward a Theory of Coercion,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 16, no. 3 (1986): pp. 383-405, https://doi.org/10.1080/00455091.1986.10717126.]
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Policy and Coercion
(Dente 1)[Bruno Dente, “Understanding Policy Decisions,” SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02520-9.]
JPG will thoroughly examine the intelligence reports, military capabilities, and weaknesses of the Chinese and Taiwanese forces, the impact on regional stabili...