The United States has been unable to translate frequent tactical successes into strategic victories in most of its recent overseas interventions for two reasons: first, because our political leaders have not defined clear political end states; and second, because we have relied too heavily on military means instead of crafting an integrated mix of political, diplomatic, economic, intelligence, information, and cultural elements. Our outcomes have been actually worse than just successes that are not quantifiable: we are telegraphing to allies and to enemies an incapacity to act strategically.
A Winning Strategy: Combine Military Force with Good Governance, by Kori Schake by Hoover Institution
