These three concerns acquire special resonance given that the Soviet
Union and Iraq were classified as relatively significant powers by
most aggregate indicators of capability and either collapsed through
internal enervation or proved utterly ineffectual when their capabilities
were put to the test in war. Both examples suggest that appreciating
the true basis of national power may require not merely a
meticulous detailing of tangible military assets, such as force inventories
and logistics capabilities, but also an assessment of other,
intangible elements such as training, doctrine, leadership, experience,
readiness, and integrative skill. It also seems to suggest that
standard measures of power such as GNP and annual economic
growth rates ought to be situated within a larger scrutiny that