I agree it's gobbledegook. Personally:
What Effect are you trying to create?
I want to stop the enemy seeing me coming.
Traditional Approach:
Kill the Radars, C2 Sites, Comms Nodes etc etc = Bomb everything = V.Expensive.
Effects-Based Approach:
Destroy 1 radar by long-range HARM or similar. Use info ops to make sure he knows exactly how you did it and how simple it would be to do it again if he even thinks about radiating. Radars remain switched-off and the effect is achieved.
OK, I accept this particular example may have holes in it, but the point is that you don't have to destroy everything. Other people will, I am sure, produce better real examples. Here's another one:
10 AWACS airframes. Requires at least 10 weapons on tgt to take them out (assuming on ground). One PGM on the flight catering section, or destruction of the pie lorry would have exactly the same effect and for a fraction of the cost
That's one interpretation of the theory anyway - in practice, there are those who see this as a political line to justify cuts, and we all know that once you lose a capability it is virtually impossible to get it back!
STH