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682. Iraq: One Year After
- Author:
- Thomas R. Pickering, James R. Schlesinger, and Eric P. Schwartz
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- On March 20, 2003, the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, designed to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein. By mid-April, major fighting was essentially over, and on May 1, the United States declared an end to major combat operations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution and Democratization
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, and Middle East
683. Renewing the Atlantic Partnership
- Author:
- Lawrence H. Summers, Henry A. Kissinger, and Charles A. Kupchan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The accomplishments of the Atlantic alliance are remarkable. History records few, if any, alliances that have yielded so many benefits for their members or for the broader international community. After centuries of recurrent conflict, war among the European great powers has become inconceivable. The Cold War has been won; the threat of nuclear war has receded. Freedom has prevailed against totalitarian ideologies. Trade, investment, and travel are more open today than ever before. Progress in raising living standards—in rich and poor countries alike—is unprecedented.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Security
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
684. 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
685. Andes 2020: A New Strategy for the Challenges of Colombia and the Region
- Author:
- Daniel W. Christman, John G. Heimann, and Julia E. Sweig
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The democracies of the Andean region—Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia—are at risk. The problems that characterize other developing regions—including political instability, economic stagnancy, widening inequality, and social divisions along class, color, ethnic, ideological, and urban-rural fault lines—are all present in the Andes. Most important is the region's physical insecurity, due in some countries to ongoing or resurgent violent conflict, and in every country to the lack of state control over significant territory and to porous borders that enable the easy movement of drugs, arms, and conflict. Equally sobering, expectations for strong democracy and economic prosperity in the Andes remain unrealized. Recognizing its interests in the Andes, the United States over the past two decades has spent billions of dollars and significant manpower to stem the flow of illegal drugs from the region northward; to assist local security forces in the fight against drugs, terror, and insurgency; and to promote free markets, human rights, and democratic consolidation. Yet the region remains on the brink of collapse, an outcome that would pose a serious threat to the U.S. goal of achieving democracy, prosperity, and security in the hemisphere.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- United States, Colombia, South America, Latin America, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia
686. Stability, Security, and Sovereignty in the Republic of Georgia
- Author:
- David L. Phillips
- Publication Date:
- 01-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The Republic of Georgia suffers from pervasive problems. Popular frustrations boiled over after the November 2, 2003, parliamentary elections, which international observers determined were fraudulent. Facing mass protests and civil disobedience, President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned. The so-called revolution of roses culminated in a peaceful transfer of power when Mikhail Saakashvili assumed the presidency after receiving 96 percent of the vote in a special ballot on January 4, 2004.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia, Asia, and Georgia
687. New Priorities in South Asia
- Author:
- Frank G. II Wisner, Nicholas Platt, and Marshall M. Bouton
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- South Asia may be halfway around the globe from the United States, but in the age of the Internet and globalization, what happens there—as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda tragically underscored—can affect all Americans. The challenge to U.S. policy over the medium term (through 2010) is to design and implement a stable and sustained approach that will solidify bilateral ties with three of the key countries of the region—India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan—and give the United States an opportunity to influence major regional developments. This report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and recommends how U.S. policy can best take advantage of the opportunities while addressing the dangers that they present. Success in dealing with South Asia will require sustained and highlevel attention, sensitive diplomacy, a realistic view of what is possible, and, especially with Pakistan and Afghanistan, investment of substantial resources.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, South Asia, and India
688. Finding America's Voice: A Strategy for Reinvigorating U.S. Public Diplomacy
- Author:
- Peter G. Peterson, Kathy Bloomgarden, Henry Grunwald, David E. Morey, Shibley Telhami, Jennifer Sieg, and Sharon Herbstman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- The United States has a growing problem. Public opinion polls echo what is seen in foreign editorials and headlines, legislative debate, and reports of personal and professional meetings. Anti- Americanism is a regular feature of both mass and elite opinion around the world. A poll by the Times of London, taken just before the Iraq war, found respondents split evenly over who posed a greater threat to world peace, U.S. President George W. Bush or then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. At the same time, European antiwar protests drew millions, and several national leaders ran successfully on anti- American platforms. Americans at home and abroad face an increased risk of direct attack from individuals and small groups that now wield more destructive power. The amount of discontent in the world bears a direct relationship to the amount of danger Americans face.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, and Europe
689. Afghanistan: Are We Losing the Peace?
- Author:
- Marshall Bouton, Frank G. Wisner, Nicholas Platt, Mahnaz Ispahani, and Dennis Kux
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Nineteen months after the defeat of the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies, Afghanistan remains a long way from achieving the U.S. goal of a stable self-governing state that no longer serves as a haven for terrorists. Indeed, failure to stem deteriorating security conditions and to spur economic reconstruction could lead to a reversion to warlord dominated anarchy and mark a major defeat for the U.S. war on terrorism. To prevent this from happening, the Task Force recommends that the United States strengthen the hand of President Hamid Karzai and intensify support for security, diplomatic, and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan.
- Topic:
- Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and South Asia
690. Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared
- Author:
- Warren B. Rudman, Richard A. Clarke, and Jamie F. Metzl
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- If we knew that there was going to be a terrorist attack sometime in the next five years but did not know what type of attack it would be, who would carry it out, or where in the United States it would occur, what actions would we take to prepare and how would we allocate our human and financial resources to do so? The tragic events of September 11, 2001 brought home to the American people the magnitude of the danger posed by terrorism on U.S. soil. Now, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the United States must assume that terrorists will strike again, possibly using chemical, biological, radiological, or even nuclear materials. The unthinkable has become thinkable.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States