by
Kugler, Richard L.
Call Number
358.41357 21
Publication Date
1998
Summary
U.S. military forces stationed abroad play vital roles. As regional political and military dynamics shift, so too will the United States need to adjust its overseas military posture to accommodate new objectives and missions in new places. In general, that posture will need to become more flexible and more expeditionary, covering a wider array of challenges and broader geographic areas. Such changes can be unsettling to accomplish and may even worry allies and friends. Yet the United States cannot adequately reassure foreign countries with an outdated force posture. Planning for these changes should not be based on marginal adjustments to arbitrary manpower levels but should assess strategic objectives, missions, and requirements before considering the implications for manpower, units, activities, and money. This planning also should establish coherent goals and orderly means of reaching them, rather than muddle along in incremental ways that lack direction or can be blown off course by the shifting political winds. This study offers eight options that can be used to help guide thinking and planning for the coming era of change.
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by
Khalilzad, Zalmay.
Call Number
358.4030973 21
Publication Date
1998
Summary
The problem of global, long-range defense planning has changed enormously since the end of the Cold War. The sources and types of conflict for which the military must plan have become more varied and less predictable, the range of potential adversaries is larger, the range of military missions is more diverse, and the nature of security itself is changing on a global basis. Defense analysts must begin to consider how many of today's leading adversaries will remain adversaries, if long-standing allies will change their orientation, who will be called on to intervene and where, and if we can expect stability or chaos. This book examines current political trends and potential sources of conflict in three critical regions--Asia, the greater Middle East, and Europe and the former Soviet Union--through the year 2025. The authors describe possible alternative strategic "worlds," including a projection of today's mixed political climate, a more benign world in which the great powers are at peace and are actively cooperative, and a world beset with economic, demographic, and political turmoil. Additional chapters discuss regional trends and their meaning for strategy and planning. Originally intended to serve Air Force long-range planning needs, the findings are relevant to broader ongoing debates and should be of interest to a wide foreign and security policy audience.
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Electronic Resources
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