Conflict escalation meas that you kick the action up a notch. Sometimes during a battle or war you have to get kind of nasty to get your point across. A prime example of this concept in action was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII.
The US knew that we would probably not be able to conquer the Japanese mainland with conventional warfare. We also knew that they wouldn’t surrender to a conventional force so we had to go nuclear. It is regrettable that so many lives were lost in the process but I am sure that it had to be an agonizing decision for our president.
You military ring folks know that the military uses threat levels of DEFON levels to elevate conflict expectations in training and in war. All troops are given an overview of the situation in operation briefs and updates. These give the Rules of Engagement (ROE) which are guidelines that tell how much force can be used in different situations.
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