To apportion forces appropriately, the relevant Combatant Commanders based their contingency planning on the assumption that the two concurrent MTWs would develop sequentially.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | The Measure of a Superpower: A Two Major Regional Contingency Military for the 21st Century | Page: 2

But whether the economy fares prosperously or poorly in the years ahead, Pentagon spending is not going to stay where it is today, and planning on the assumption it will is bad management.

FORBES: Pentagon Budget Math Doesn't Add Up

The underlying assumption was that proper information and planning would determine the outcome of wars.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Chinese Information Warfare: A Phantom Menace or Emerging Threat? | Page: 15

Planning allows you to see how smart you were when the plan was written, or where your research and assumption skills need work.

FORBES: The Difference Between a Business Plan and Planning