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961. Nonlethal Weapons and Capabilities

Author:
Paul X. Kelley, Richard L. Garwin, and Graham T. Allison
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
In the four weeks of “major conflict” in Iraq that began on March 19, 2003, U.S. forces demonstrated the power of training, transformation, and joint operations. However, the ensuing support and stability phase has been plagued by looting, sabotage, and insurgency. Wider integration of existing types of nonlethal weapons (NLW) into the U.S. Army and Marine Corps could have helped to reduce the damage done by widespread looting and sabotage after the cessation of major conflict in Iraq. Incorporating these and additional forms of nonlethal capabilities more broadly into the equipment, training, and doctrine of the armed services could substantially improve U.S. effectiveness in achieving the goals of modern war. Nonlethal weapons and capabilities have much to offer also in the conduct of war, in the prevention of hostilities, and in support of homeland defense. Indeed, a force using nonlethal weapons and capabilities has the potential of achieving combat and support goals more effectively than would a force employing only lethal means. How to achieve these benefits is the subject of this report.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Defense Policy, and War
Political Geography:
United States and Iraq

962. Sizing and Shaping European Armed Forces Lessons and Considerations from the Nordic Countries

Author:
William Hopkinson
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
There are many threats in the current security agenda that call for collaborative international action: they include environmental degradation, organized crime, disease, natural disaster, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Sometimes collaboration is political or diplomatic, and sometimes it is economic. In other cases, security needs will require either the direct application of force or the use of organized, disciplined groups that may ultimately have to use force to protect themselves and others. Javier Solana, the European Union (EU) High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), pointed out: 'We need to develop a strategic culture that fosters early, rapid, and when necessary robust intervention. We should think particularly of operations involving both military and civilian capabilities'.
Topic:
Defense Policy and NATO
Political Geography:
Europe

963. Japan's Constitution and Defense Policy: Entering a New Era?

Author:
Rust Deming
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Japan's postwar defense policy was set by the 1947 constitution. Early in the occupation, General Douglas MacArthur and his staff concluded that the 19th-century Meiji constitution needed to be revised or entirely replaced if Japan were to become a true democracy, with the Emperor removed from any political role. In January 1946, convinced that the elitist and authoritarian Japanese establishment was incapable of producing a democratic constitution, MacArthur ordered his staff to produce a draft. One week later, an entirely rewritten constitution emerged and was presented to the Japanese. Included in the draft was Article IX: War as a sovereign right of the nation is abolished. The threat or use of force is forever renounced as a means of settling disputes with any other nation. No Army, Navy, Air Force, or other war potential will ever be authorized and no right of belligerency will ever be conferred upon the state.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, and International Law
Political Geography:
Japan

964. Apocalyptic Terrorism: The Case for Preventive Action

Author:
Joseph McMillan
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The nature and capabilities of 21st-century terrorists, especially those such as al Qaeda and its allies who pursue an apocalyptic agenda, make it essential that governments can take decisive preventive action, including the use of force, rather than waiting to respond to attacks after the fact. In certain circumstances, this means being able to conduct military operations on the territory of foreign countries without their consent.
Topic:
Defense Policy, International Law, and Terrorism

965. Eliminating Adversary WMD: Lessons for Future Conflicts

Author:
Rebecca K.C. Hersman and Todd M. Koca
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
As tensions between Iraq and the United States worsened in mid-to-late 2002 and as preparations began for Operation Iraqi Freedom, policymakers and military planners began to wrestle with the challenges posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Indeed, Iraqi defiance and deception in the face of United Nations (UN) sanctions, coupled with growing fears of WMD transfer to terrorist organizations—most prominently al Qaeda—were two primary reasons for confronting Saddam Hussein. Just as in the first Gulf War in 1991, deterring and defending against possible Iraqi use of WMD against coalition forces were key concerns for planners. However, as the crisis escalated in 2002, Department of Defense (DOD) planners began to foresee another challenge: how to remove comprehensively and permanently the threat of Iraqi WMD, not just to U.S. troops but also to the Middle East region and the world.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Middle East

966. Shaping U.S. Policy on Africa: Pillars of a New Strategy

Author:
Johnnie Carson
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In the four decades since most African states achieved independence, the continent has never been a foreign policy priority for the United States. During the early years of American engagement with Africa, Washington focused its attention on preventing communist countries from gaining major military bases or monopolistic concessions over any of the continent's important strategic minerals. Although the United States provided large amounts of development assistance and food aid to a number of African states, most American interest and support was directed toward African countries and leaders who were regarded as Cold War allies. In those countries still struggling for independence, the United States usually supported African insurgents who were pro-Western and anticommunist in their orientation. In South Africa and Namibia, Washington generally professed great sympathy for eventual majority rule and independence but largely supported the status quo out of fear that liberation groups allied with the Soviet Union or China would win power in any political transition.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, China, America, Washington, and Soviet Union

967. Deploying Missile Defense: Major Operational Challenges

Author:
M. Elaine Bunn
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
If all goes according to plan, by the end of 2004, the United States will deploy eight groundbased midcourse defense (GMD) interceptors1 in Alaska and California, along with land-, sea-, and space-based sensors and the command and control systems to support the interceptors. By the end of 2005, 12 more GMD interceptors will be added, along with additional sensors and interceptor missiles on Navy ships.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
California

968. A Way Out of the Mesopotamian Morass? The Case for a Partitioned Iraq

Author:
Ivan Eland
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
The United States has plunged into an Iraqi swamp. The swashbuckling victory in the first Gulf War led to the most egregious sin that can be made in the military affairs—hubris and underestimation of the enemy. The U.S. and Soviet superpowers made the same mistake respectively in Vietnam in the sixties and seventies and Afghanistan in the eighties. But as those quagmires fade from memory, government officials apparently have to relearn the same lessons.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Democratization, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Soviet Union, and Vietnam

969. Tactical nuclear weapons: Europe's redundant weapons of mass destruction

Author:
Hugh Beach
Publication Date:
04-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Security Information Service
Abstract:
THIS PAPER EXAMINES the case for the withdrawal of US tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) from European soil on the following grounds: The new strategic context makes redundant the original purpose of these weapons' deployment. There is a concern that these weapons will play a part in the new US doctrine of pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons to achieve military objectives. There is a need to buttress the non-proliferation regime through reducing the circumstances in which nuclear weapons might be used rather than undermining that regime by devising new purposes for nuclear weapons. The removal of all TNW from nuclear arsenals(especially those in the former Soviet Union) would constitute an important act of disarmament that would increase international and regional security. Their removal would also avoid the enormous (opportunity) cost of sustaining these deployments through planned modernisation of storage facilities. Their removal would be another step towards fulfilling the political commitments made by the US and the other established nuclear powers under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

970. Feasibility Study on the European Civil Peace Corps

Author:
Catriona Gourlay
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Security Information Service
Abstract:
This study explores how the proposal for a European Civil Peace Corps (ECPC) might contribute to EU civilian capacities for conflict prevention, crisis management and post conflict peace building. It tracks the progressive identification of EU civilian crisis management with the activities conducted within the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in the Council, and shows how this approach is limited and institutionally divorced from conflict prevention and crisis management activities supported by the Commission.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Development
Political Geography:
Europe