Most of the ideas underpinning the foundation of American defense policy and military strategy today were once new and untested concepts at the edge of strategic thought. Critical thinkers had to analyze and refine those ideas so the defense community could apply them in strategy and force development. This is an ongoing process: new ideas emerge, are tested, and adopted, revised, or discarded. To aid the process of identifying and examining new ideas and concepts, the Strategic Studies Institute publishes a special series called ÒAdvancing Strategic Thought.Ó This series offers a forum for putting forth original and innovative concepts and perspectives concerning national security policy and military strategy. Yet, it also challenges accepted notions which might have become part of the foundation of American defense policy a bit too quickly. All of this is done, again, in the interest of advancing strategic thought.