Above all the statesman must have a clear view of his post-war goal or political object. The political object takes war out of the realm of abstraction. Belligerents are no longer mere conceptions but individual states and governments having distinct political and ideological characteristics. Hence the political object, which is the motive of war, as well as the nature of the enemy, will determine the purpose of military force as well as the amount of force to be used. Clausewitz's oft-quoted dictum that war is a continuation of politics by other means is often misunderstood.
War is itself a political act.
The political object is the first and highest consideration in the conduct of war. It must accommodate itself to the nature of the means, i.e., the military forces available, and this may involve a temporary modification of the political objective. But suppose the PLO, as evidence indicates, is an instrument of war employed by Arab-Islamic states, especially Egypt, its creator and patron. The purpose of the instrument is to enfeeble Israel by terrorist attacks. Such attacks compel Israel to engage in counter-terrorist activity, which impairs the country's ability to defend itself against external enemies.