{**** This post has now been published at Indian Defence Review as "
DEADLY Targets of Multi-Dimensional Warfare
DEADLY Targets of Multi-Dimensional Warfare
DEADLY Targets of Multi-Dimensional Warfare
Khashoggi Murder, Crash of IL-20, Skripal Poisoning, and Stuxnet - DEADLY Targets of Multi-Dimensional Warfare
Jamal Khashoggi's death in a fight in
Saudi consulate in Istanbul as claimed by Saudi public prosecutor surfaces a
new set of criteria of “targeting” in the multi-dimensional warfare that each
state is getting involved in. The boundaries of wars of different types, even if
earlier they were blurred, have now become a full spectrum continuum where
governments of all hues and colors view war as permanent – arguably, a markedly
Orwellian world has emerged - though the dimensions of the war may vary from
time to time. We have identified 15
dimensions of this multi-dimensional warfare earlier. (Please also see Indian Defence Review,
July-September 2018, “War as a Multi-Dimensional Whole: A Framework for
India in a Repolarizing World”).
As we know every war has targets
to be eliminated/destroyed. At the basic war planning level, elimination of the
identified targets is the way to prosecute war. The Clausewitz’s invariant
“nature of warfare” is violent – destroying the enemy’s capability to wage its
own war, its assets and in fact its will to fight. The characteristics of war change or evolve from
time to time but its nature does not change. One of the key characteristics of
war is the type and targets that need to be eliminated and destroyed to achieve
the goal. In the new 15-Dimensional Warfare, the state may have to wage a war
against the influence-makers or key opinion leaders who may create ripple effects of
encouraging the world and the citizens of the country to seek change from the
current “state” or “deep state”. One can argue that such targets were always
there and were eliminated in previous world of delineated war dimensions,
however, the argument that the boundaries are blurring cannot be denied.
Khashoggi, Russian IL-20, Skripal
Poisoning, and Stuxnet – The Targets of Multi-Dimensional Warfare
Jamal Khashoggi was a target of
Saudi State may be for elimination, but for silencing is well established in
the media reports. His last op-ed
in Washington Post, he wrote, “Arab governments have been given free
rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate”. He was silenced,
if the apple watch connected to his apple phone recording has to be believed,
through an excruciating dismemberment in the consulate that is accepted as a
fight by the Saudi and the US President has already tweeted the explanation as
“credible”. One lesson of “targeting” in this new type of war by states and
perhaps the most important parameter is how to build “Deniability” into the
process of elimination or silencing of targets – be they individuals or
war-making components.
In September 2018, in a most
peculiar targeting and combat cunning if one may, Israeli fighter aircraft
F-16s were accused of destroying a Russian IL-20 aircraft with 15 Russians
on-board. In a remarkable choreography captured by S-400 Command radar mapping
the firing of S-200 Missile against the Israeli F-16 and the cunning
maneuver by F-16 to lead the missile
fired on itself to the IL-20 was presented by Russia after
claims and counterclaims by both Israel and Russia. Once again, the Israeli targeting was built
on deniability.
In March 2018, a Russian-British
Spy and ex-Russian Military officer, Sergei
Skripal and his daughter were poisoned through a nerve agent as
claimed by UK. Although both victims survived the attack but went through
prolonged treatment. The UK suspected two Russian “tourists” who came
specifically to UK to eliminate Sergei. This incident resulted in expulsions of
diplomats from both sides. Russia, of course, denied the charges.
About a decade back, “Stuxnet”
computer virus reportedly disabled centrifuges in an Iranian
uranium-enrichment plant. These were later considered as the handy work of US
and Israel, although neither of them admitted.
A “worm” program designed by US and Israeli scientists to take control
of the centrifuges at the Iranian plant and make the centrifuges speed very
high or very low to disrupt the working the plant was successful till due to a
programming error it escaped the controlled operation and was discovered. The
Stuxnet is the first instance of state carrying out cyber-attack. It was built-in
with “deniability”.
Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) – a WWII organization that later evolved as Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) of USA, developed a simple methodology for French field agents to
identify targets for disruption. It was called CARVER
– which is an acronym of Criticality, Accessibility, Recuperability,
Vulnerability, Effect and Reconfigurability. This was also used by US special
forces in Vietnam war. It has also developed into some sort of risk
prioritization methodology as well. Most significant of the above six
parameters considered were criticality and effect on goal.
For the
15-dimensional war (the 15-D war). we propose an evolution of
the CARVER to a new set of parameters that include Deniability, Effectiveness,
Accessibility, Destructability, Low Cost and Yield (high). The new targeting
methodology for targeting in the 15D warfare is DEADLY. The DEADLY targeting
framework selects those targets and methods that have high deniability. We
define deniability as the ability to hide/shift/obfuscate the evidence of
involvement of the attacking/sponsoring agency. Effectiveness is the
probability of success in achieving desired effects while Accessibility is the
ease of reaching the target. We also have added the Destructibility (level) desired
and achievable of the target as one of the parameters of this framework. Next
parameter is the Cost that should be as Low as possible but includes the
political, combat/military cost and the economic cost in that order. And
finally the expected Yield which should be high. The expected Yield is defined
as produce of the targeting – something positive for combat/military, political
and/or economic value.
The major shift from
Criticality and Effects on the goal from the CARVER is the Deniability, Destructibility
and Yield in the DEADLY matrix. The targeting matrix and methodology can be
same. Also, as CARVER has been used to
strengthen friendly targets so that enemy need to do more to attack the
friendly targets, DEADLY can also be used to strengthen friendly targets
against potential attackers that are Deniable.
DEADLY requires
technology-based innovation
As
all the four cases cited above point out, the Deniability need to be countered for
friendly targets and technology helped in all the cases. Whether it’s the command radar of S-400
in IL20 crash or Apple watch linked to Apple Phone or the use of cyberweapon in
Stuxnet – technology proved critical. Further, technology alone will not
suffice, it has to be enmeshed into a solution for the mission that aids
deniability if you are attacking or it surfaces deniability while defending.
That requires technology-based innovation.
We
propose DEADLY as the methodology for Targeting and Strengthening Friendly
Targets in the multi-dimensional warfare continuum that we have today. Using
DEADLY matrix one can devise technology-based innovative solutions for both –
constructing deniable attacks and countering deniable threats.
*****
