Page "Military doctrine" Paragraph 71

Under President Lyndon Johnson it was stated that the US armed forces should be able to fight two — at one point, two-and-a-half — wars at the same time.

This was defined to mean a war in Europe against the Soviet Union, a war in Asia against China or North Korea, and a " half-war " as well — in other words, a " small " war in the Third World.

When Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he altered the formula to state that the United States should be able to fight one-and-a-half wars simultaneously.