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In the theory of nuclear warfare, a decapitation strike is a first strike attack that aims to remove the command and control mechanisms of an opponent,〔("Words of Intelligence: An Intelligence Professional's Lexicon for Domestic and Foreign Threats" ), Jan Goldman. Scarecrow Press, Jun 16, 2011. ISBN 0-8108-7814-3, ISBN 978-0-8108-7814-3〕 in the hope that it will severely degrade or destroy its capacity for nuclear retaliation. It is essentially a sub-set of a counterforce strike, but whereas a counterforce strike seeks to destroy weapons directly, a decapitation strike is designed to remove an enemy's ability to use its weapons. Strategies against decapitation strikes include: * Distributed command and control structures. * Dispersal of political leadership and military leadership in times of tension. * Delegation of ICBM/SLBM launch capability to local commanders in the event of a decapitation strike.〔Documents on Predelegation of Authority for Nuclear Weapons Use | http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/predelegation/predel.htm〕 * Distributed and diverse launch mechanisms. A failed decapitation strike carries the risk of immediate, massive retaliation by the targeted opponent. Many countries with nuclear weapons specifically plan to prevent decapitation strikes by employing second strike capabilities. Such countries may have mobile land-based launch, sea launch, air launch, and underground ballistic missile launch facilities so that a nuclear launch on one area of the country will not totally negate its ability to retaliate. Other nuclear warfare doctrines explicitly exclude decapitation strikes on the basis that it is better to preserve the adversary's command and control structures so that a single authority remains that is capable of negotiating a surrender or ceasefire. Implementing fail-deadly mechanisms can be a way to deter decapitation strikes and respond to successful decapitation strikes. ==Non-nuclear use== The term "decapitation strike" has been used analogously to describe the assassination of entire leadership cadres through conventional warfare means, like car bombings and terrorist attacks. *In April 1865, Abraham Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth was part of a larger plot to kill Lincoln, then-Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward, targeting the presidential line of succession and, with it, the leadership of the United States at the close of the American Civil War. *The deportation and murder of Armenian intellectuals from Constantinople in April 1915 during the Armenian Genocide. *In 1944, a group of German military personnel around Klaus von Stauffenberg planned an assassination of Adolf Hitler and his inner circle, which ultimately failed. *The 2003 invasion of Iraq began with a decapitation strike against Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi military leaders.〔 〕 These air strikes failed to kill their intended targets. *In July 2012, a bombing killed three of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's senior defence leaders. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Decapitation strike」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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