Decisively defeating al-Qa‘ida will involve neutralizing its CoG, but this will require the use of diplomatic and informational initiatives more than military action.  LTC Antulio J. Echevarria II, USA (ret.)1/

This most perceptive statement, written before our invasion of Iraq, raises the issue of whether the center of gravity concept offers anything for the types of conflicts we find ourselves engaged in today.

At least twice in the last week or so, I’ve seen “centers of gravity” in articles about US defense policy:

• Strategy: Renewing the Center of Gravity, by Daniel Steed.  “The use of force and the seeking of decisive engagement through the destruction of the enemy force. … the traditional physics concept of coalesced mass.”
• Lessons From America’s War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew Bacevich. “The phrase center of gravity refers to that factor upon which a war’s outcome ultimately turns.”