- Exit strategy
An exit strategy is a means of escaping one's current situation, typically an unfavourable situation. An organization or individual without an exit strategy may be in a . At worst, an exit strategy will save face; at best, an exit strategy will peg a withdrawal to the achievement of an objective worth more than the cost of continued involvement.
In warfare
In
military strategy an exit strategy is understood to minimize what militaryjargon callsblood and treasure (lives and matériel).The term was used technically in internal Pentagon critiques of the
Vietnam War (cf. PresidentRichard Nixon 's promise ofPeace With Honor ), but remained obscure to the general public until the Battle of Mogadishu,Somalia when the U.S. military involvement in that U.N.peacekeeping operation cost the lives of U.S. troops without a clear objective. Republican critics of PresidentBill Clinton derided him for having no "exit strategy", although he had inherited an active military operation from his predecessor, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush . The criticism was revived later against the U.S. involvement in theYugoslav wars , including peacekeeping operations in Bosnia andKosovo and theKosovo war against Serbia.The term has been adopted by critics of U.S. involvement in
Afghanistan and especiallyIraq . PresidentGeorge W. Bush was said to have no exit strategy to remove troops from Iraq, and critics worried about the number of Coalition soldiers andIraq icivilian s who would suffer injury or death as a result.In business
In
entrepreneurship andstrategic management an exit strategy, exit plan, or strategic withdrawal, is a way to terminate either one's ownership of a company or the operation of some part of the company.Entrepreneur s andinvestor s devise ways of recouping the capital they have invested in a company. The most common strategy is simply to sell their equity position to someone else. From time to time, management may decide it is necessary to downsize its operations. This typically involves discontinuing less profitablebrand s, products,product line s, or operating divisions.See also
*Surrender
*Withdrawal
*Iraq Study Group Report
*Pyrrhic victory
*No-win situation
*Total U.S. Withdrawal in the Vietnam WarExternal links
* [http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/092893-press-briefing-by-dee-dee-myers.htm 1993 White House press briefing] - quoting
Brent Scowcroft on exit strategy
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