Editing Strategy (section)

==Military theory==
{{main|Military strategy}}
{{blockquote|Subordinating the political point of view to the military would be absurd, for it is policy that has created war...Policy is the guiding intelligence, and war only the instrument, not vice-versa.|[[On War]] by [[Carl von Clausewitz]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Summers |first=Harry G. |title=Clausewitz and Strategy Today |journal=Naval War College Review |volume=36 |issue=2 |date=March–April 1983 |pages=40–46 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44636277 |accessdate=2025-01-14}}</ref>}}

In military theory, strategy is "the utilization during both peace and war, of all of the nation's forces, through large scale, long-range planning and development, to ensure security and victory" (''Random House Dictionary'').<ref name=charlesw/>

The father of Western modern [[Strategic studies|strategic study]], [[Carl von Clausewitz]], defined military strategy as "the employment of battles to gain the end of war." [[B. H. Liddell Hart]]'s definition put less emphasis on battles, defining strategy as "the art of distributing and applying military means to fulfill the ends of policy".<ref>[[B. H. Liddell Hart|Liddell Hart, B. H.]] ''Strategy'' London: Faber, 1967 (2nd rev ed.) p. 321</ref> Hence, both gave the pre-eminence to political aims over military goals. U.S. Naval War College instructor Andrew Wilson defined strategy as the "process by which political purpose is translated into military action."<ref name="Wilson2012">{{cite book
| last = Wilson
| first = Andrew
| year = 2012
| title = Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers | publisher = The Teaching Company}}</ref> [[Lawrence Freedman]] defined strategy as the "art of creating power."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Strategy : a history|last=Freedman, Lawrence.|isbn=9780199349906|location=Oxford|oclc=858282187|date = 2 September 2013}}</ref>

Eastern [[military]] philosophy dates back much further, with examples such as ''[[The Art of War]]'' by [[Sun Tzu]] dated around 500 B.C.<ref name="Lionel Giles 2007">{{aut|Giles, Lionel}} ''The Art of War by Sun Tzu''. Special Edition Books. 2007.</ref>

=== Counterterrorism Strategy ===
Because [[Counter-terrorism|counterterrorism]] involves the synchronized efforts of numerous competing bureaucratic entities, national governments frequently create overarching counterterrorism strategies at the national level.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Stigall|first1=Dan E.|last2=Miller|first2=Chris|last3=Donnatucci|first3=Lauren|date=2019-10-07|title=The 2018 U.S. National Strategy for Counterterrorism: A Synoptic Overview|journal=American University National Security Law Brief|location=Washington DC|ssrn=3466967}}</ref> A national counterterrorism strategy is a government's plan to use the instruments of national power to neutralize terrorists, their organizations, and their networks in order to render them incapable of using violence to instill fear and to coerce the government or its citizens to react in accordance with the terrorists' goals.<ref name=":0" /> The United States has had several such strategies in the past, including the ''United States National Strategy for Counterterrorism'' (2018);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NSCT.pdf|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|title=2018 U.S. National Strategy for Counterterrorism|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|date=October 2018}}</ref> the Obama-era ''National Strategy for Counterterrorism'' (2011); and the ''National Strategy for Combatting Terrorism'' (2003). There have also been a number of ancillary or supporting plans, such as the 2014 ''Strategy to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant'', and the 2016 ''Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States''.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, the United Kingdom's counterterrorism strategy, [[CONTEST]], seeks "to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens and interests overseas from terrorism so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-terrorism-strategy-contest-2018|title=Counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) 2018|website=GOV.UK|date=20 August 2018 |access-date=2019-10-20}}</ref>