Defense Policy Choices for the Bush Administration, 2001-2005 / Edition 1

by Michael E. O'Hanlon

Overview

"This latest study in the Brookings series on U.S. defense strategy and the defense budget reviews current American military capabilities and offers suggestions for the new administration and Congress. Michael O'Hanlon makes sense of the hot political topic of military readiness, questions the continued relevance of the current two-war framework for structuring most conventional combat forces, and challenges the wisdom of current plans for the procurement of advanced jet fighters, helicopters, and submarines. The book also focuses on missile defense, other means of homeland defense, the so-called revolution in military affairs, and possible conflicts between Taiwan and China that could involve U.S. forces. Throughout, the author looks for ways to close the gap between the cost of projected U.S. defense forces and the budget actually available to the Pentagon.

"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815700791
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2001
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

"Michael E. O'Hanlon is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Sydney Stein Jr. Chair. His recent books include The Future of Arms Control (Brookings, 2005; with Michael A. Levi), Neither Star Wars nor Sanctuary (Brookings, 2004), and Crisis on the Korean Peninsula (McGraw Hill, 2003; with Mike Mochizuki)."

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	Introduction	1
	A Successful Defense Drawdown	6
	Major Challenges and Problems Ahead	9
	No Easy Answers	12
	Why Budgetary Constraints Remain	14
	Plan of the Book	18
Chapter 2	Military Readiness and Overseas Commitments	22
	Current and Future U.S. Military Readiness	22
	Reducing Overseas Commitments	41
	Conclusion	57
Chapter 3	Modifying the Two-War Framework	59
	A New Two-War Concept: "Desert Storm plus Desert Shield plus Bosnia"	63
	The Capabilities of Smaller, Rapidly Deployable U.S. Forces	67
	The Hollowing Iraqi and North Korean Militaries	69
	South Korea's Strong Military	71
	Conclusion	74
Appendix	Beyond the Korean and Iraqi Threats	76
Chapter 4	Modernizing the U.S. Military	82
	The Contemporary Debate on a Revolution in Military Affairs	83
	Rethinking the Pentagon's Modernization Agenda	96
	Conclusion	114
Chapter 5	Homeland Defense	115
	The Homeland Defense Budget	122
	New Initiatives to Combat Terrorism	130
	New Initiatives To Protect Cyber Infrastructure	136
	New Initiatives to Secure and Destroy Former Soviet WMD	139
	Conclusion	141
Chapter 6	Building a Limited National Missile Defense and Cutting Nuclear Forces	143
	The Case for Limited National Missile Defense	147
	The Clinton Administration's NMD Program	156
	Boost-Phase Endoatmospheric Intercept	164
	Offensive Nuclear Weapons	168
	Conclusion	174
Chapter 7	Helping Taiwan Defeat a Chinese Blockade	177
	The Strategic Backdrop	179
	The China-Taiwan Military Balance	182
	Why China Could Not Seize Taiwan	189
	Could China Coerce Taiwan's Capitulation?	208
	Force Planning Implications for the United States	213
	The Basic Approach to Breaking the PRC Blockade	216
	Arms Sales	222
	Conclusion	225
Chapter 8	Summary and Conclusion	227
	Less Expensive Weaponry	228
	A Different Two-War Capability	229
	Selective Reductions in Overseas Deployments	230
	More Defense and Less (Nuclear) Offense	231
	Selective Increases in Certain Activities	232
	Modest Increases in the Defense Budget	233
	Index	235

Editorial Reviews

"The Brookings Institution Press continues its reputation for excellence with the publication of a number of recent works examining US defense strategy and the American security agenda.... (discusses 'Defense Policy' and 'Defending America')." —Robert H. Taylor, Parameters, U.S. Army War College Quarterly, 7/1/2001

"... the author was prescient enough to include a chapter on home defense, with mentions of Al-Qa'ida and bin Laden." —William Hopkinson, International Affairs, 4/1/2002

"The book offers excellent 'Military 101' overviews of a potential China-Taiwan conflict.... This book provides a solid grounding for both the budgetary battles that lie ahead and the most likely military engagements of the near future." —Troy K. Schneider, NationalJournal.com, 1/24/2002

From the Publisher