As a net assessment, the “ideal” objective within any battlespace – if we are to remain true to the Germanic-Latin etymological roots of “war” – is “to bring into confusion”, that is to say, to create (or, perhaps more accurately, to simulate) a dis-orienting state of affairs, which aims to disturb an enemy’s structural and operational cohesion. In other words, “to win” in a battlespace is to “dis-integrate” (in the shortest possible time and the lowest possible cost) an enemy’s somatic integrity.
At the tactical-operational level, there are, of course, a number of obvious ways by which this is achieved – overwhelming firepower, “shock and awe”, decapitating strikes against command and control elements, dissemination of disinformation etc. But underwriting these options lies the concept of deterrence – strategic and tactical (within an without a nuclear-weapons context) – which we are most familiar with in game-theoretic terms. Indeed, the concept of deterrence also makes its presence felt at the micro-tactical levels (such as in close-quarters combat, hand-to-hand fighting, duels etc.).
Now, “to deter”, understood normatively, means: To prevent or discourage from acting, as by means of fear or doubt. In short, “to deter” is “to dissuade” primarily using “fear” (which stems from, among other things, doubt) as an instrument.
I suggest that this “fear” – generated by conditions (natural and/or purposely created) of confusion, disarray, disintegration etc. – is thanatologically grounded. Now, if fear can be liberated from its foundational grounds: the fear of death (or finitude), then the remainder – “pure-fear” – which reveals itself as much through confusion, disarray, disintegration etc., is of a different order of magnitude for it is nothing less than the experience of the Void – of groundless-ness. The challenge is to be able to weaponize this de-thanatologized or ungrounded “pure-fear” and to seek opportunities to operationalize it without compromising on its voidal nature.
The objective, of course, is an ancient one, best expressed in the words of Sun Tzu:
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. (Sun Tzu, The Art of War)
This is something that needs looking into and I suspect that my readings on Ferenczi will come into play here. Let’s see how this evolves.
(to be updated)
Battlespace 
Posted on March 14, 2011