Search

Much has been written about nuclear weapons, but what has been learned? Once an essential element of American foreign and defense policy, these matters were neglected after the Cold War and all but forgotten after September 11th. As the Schlesinger Commission concluded, "Because nuclear weapons have been less prominent since the end of the Cold War and have not been used since World War II, their importance and unique role as a deterrent have been obscured though not diminished." Recent incidents of mismanagement of the US nuclear weapons enterprise, the acquisition of atomic weapons by North Korea, Iran's apparent quest for such weapons, the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and negotiation of its replacement with Russia, and the decision to engage in a nuclear posture review have brought the attention of policy makers to the important question of the role that nuclear forces should play in American strategy., Published in Strategic Studies Quarterly, p74-89 Spring 2010.

Contents of this volume include an editorial titled, "Stay Out: Why Intervention Should Not Be America's Policy." Feature Articles in this Strategic Studies Quarterly cover the following topics The Effects of Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons on Civil-Military Relations in India; India's Military Aviation Market: Opportunities for the United States; Saving Darfur: Seductive Analogies and the Limits of Airpower Coercion in Sudan; Coercive Engagement: A Security Analysis of Iranian Support to Iraqi Shia Militias; Using the Patriot Act to Turn North Korea's Dirty Money into a Bargaining Chip. Book reviews listed in this volume analyze the following books: The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons since 1945; On Other War: Lessons from Five Decades of Counterinsurgency Research; The State of India's Democracy; Sustaining Air Force Space Systems, A Model for the Global Positioning System; A Contract with the Earth. Also included in this publication is a Letter to the addressing ,"The Contact Sport Senior Leaders Must Play" and a response to the letter to the editor., Published in Strategics Studies Quarterly v3 n2 Summer 2009.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominate security discourse. With thousands of lives lost and billions of dollars spent, few issues merit more attention. Yet it is worthwhile to remember that these wars, like all wars, will end. And when they do, policy makers will come to terms with a harsh, albeit forgotten, reality: The ruling of distant peoples, as George Kennan so aptly put it, is not "our dish." The United States should steer clear of "an acceptance of any sort of paternalistic responsibility to anyone, be it in the form of military occupation, if we can possibly avoid it, or for any period longer than is absolutely necessary." Simply put, intervention might have been our fate, but it should not be our policy., Published in Strategic Studies Quarterly, p3-12, Summer 2009.

The Bush administration has declared that the spread of democracy with its habits of freedom is the best way to protect America from international terrorism. This conclusion is based on a presumption that political freedom is a strong determinant of terrorism. This paper contends that not all democratic forms are equally able to eliminate the conditions that are exploited by terrorist organizations. Furthermore, the U.S. must understand the manner in which political freedom, economic conditions and religion is related to affiliation with terrorist organizations. Assessing the convergence of these factors revealed several key findings. First, states that exhibit both political and religious repression are extremely prone to terrorist exploitation. Second, states with growing economic conditions and high relative deprivation are more prone to terrorist exploitation than states without these conditions. Finally, the convergence of political repression and growing economies in Islamic states is extremely prone to terrorist exploitation. In the end, understanding these conditions can help GWOT planners identify high risk states that are not currently affiliated with terrorist organizations. If the internal conditions of these states can be improved, terrorists dislocated from current states by GWOT efforts will not have new sanctuaries in which to fall back. In summary, by assessing these relationships and factors, this thesis can help decision-makers frame the next stages and ultimate objectives of the Global War on Terrorism.

To lead the US Air Force into the future, it is necessary to understand the past and present nature of the force. With this in mind, Air Force leaders have always sought to arm members of the force with a basic knowledge and understanding of Air Force culture and history. This volume is a contribution to that ongoing educational process, but as the title states, this is only an introduction. The information provided here merely scratches the surface of the fascinating stories of the people, equipment, and operations of the Air Force Topics that are covered here in only a few short paragraphs have been, and will continue to be the subject of entire books. We hope this volume will be a starting point and a reference work to facilitate your continuing study of aerospace power. The reader should keep in mind that all the people, operations, and aerospace craft included in this book have been important to the US Air Force, but they are not the only ones that have been important. The US Air Force has gained much from other nations, other US military services, and civilian organizations and these outside influences on the US Air Force are not included in this volume. This Introduction to the United States Air Force is organized into two parts and five appendices. The first part is organized chronologically and groups significant operations and personalities together in several critical periods in the development of the US Air Force. The second part covers aerospace craft and is organized by type (fighters, bombers, missiles, etc,) in order to show the development of each type over time. Following Part II are appendices listing the senior leaders of the early air forces (before the creation of the US Air Force in 1947), the Air Force Chiefs of Staff, the Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force, Fighter Aces, and Medal of Honor Winners.