This important report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. As a strategy, crony attack targets key elite supporters of an enemy leader to effect policy change in the attacker's favor. It is also one of a set of tools used in coercive diplomacy. Other tools include economic sanctions and information operations. To properly and efficiently leverage the potentially powerful mechanism of crony attack demands coordination among those responsible for wielding the military, diplomatic, economic, and informational instruments of national power.
This thesis describes crony attack, comments on requirements for successful development of crony attack methodology, and investigates a prominent case where the United States apparently used this strategy. This thesis treats crony attack primarily as a form of strategic attack, carried out during the air campaign portion of military operations. It also outlines a theoretical foundation for such a targeting strategy. While acknowledging that current policy and practice regarding ongoing and recent crony attacks are properly mired in secrecy, this paper investigates the case of crony attack against the Slobodan Milosevic regime during Operation Allied Force in 1999. The damage to capital-producing facilities, controlled by key political supporters of Milosevic and his wife, eventually incited those supporters to push for policy change and an end to the war.
Chapter 1 - Introduction * Chapter 2 - Background * Chapter 3 - Theory of Crony Attack * Chapter 4 - Strategy of Crony Attack * Chapter 5 - Operation Allied Force: A Case Study * Chapter 6 - Conclusions