National Security 2005-2015
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60th Anniversary Edition THE BEST OF FPRI’ S ESSAY S ON National Security 2005-2015 Insert Image Here FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE The Best of FPRI’s Essays on National Security, 2005-2015 Program on National Security September 2015 FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE www.fpri.org In Memory of Dr. John M. Templeton Jr. 1940-2015 About the Foreign Policy Research Institute The Foreign Policy Research Institute was founded in Philadelphia in 1955 by Robert Strausz- Hupé on the premise that a nation must think before it acts. Thus, FPRI brings the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance US national interests. Strausz- Hupé is credited with introducing “geopolitics” into the American vocabulary with the publication in 1942 of his book Geopolitics: The Struggle for Space and Power. Simply put, geopolitics offers a perspective on contemporary international affairs that is anchored in the study of history, geography and culture, or, as FPRI’s James Kurth has put it, in the study of the “realities and mentalities of the localities.” Strausz-Hupé embedded that perspective in FPRI and it remains today our method or, to use the contemporary lingo, our “brand.” With the world in such turmoil, that mission and method have never been more needed than they are today. About FPRI’s Program on National Security More than a decade after the 9/11 attacks the world remains a complicated and dangerous place. The crises in Syria and Iraq and Ukraine are clearly destabilizing and China’s actions in the South and East China Seas have potentially deleterious consequences for Asian regional security. The United States faces dynamic threats from non-state threats (e.g., terrorism, cyber threats, pandemics, etc.) as well as the reassertion of a more competitive international state system. While such matters may not pose as severe a threat as what the Cold War posed, today’s complexities are compounded because of domestic political differences in the U.S. that question what should, or should not, be the Nation’s role in international security and the resources that should, or should not, be allocated to deal with these problems. The FPRI’s Program on National Security seeks to help illuminate and address these issues and trends by examining contemporary and emergent concerns for American and international security through a wide aperture by bringing expertise to bear in publications, media appearances, and briefings. The Institute’s location in Philadelphia outside of the shorter attention span of Washington policy debates allows the Program to look at current and emergent problems with a longer-range view. In particular the program focuses on: • American grand strategy • The current and future global geopolitical environment that affect the U.S. and its interests • The ends (strategies), ways (organization and methods of force employment), and means (force structures and capabilities) that impact the use of military force • Counterterrorism and homeland security • Development, diplomacy, and informational (particularly in the realm of what we describe as competitive soft power) issues that contribute to the holistic implementation of strategy. Volumes of Related Interest FPRI’s has produced several volumes such as this one along the years, focusing on specific issues of perennial interest. Readers of this particular volume on national security may also be interested in: Robert Strausz-Hupé et al., Protracted Conflict: A Challenging Study of Communist Strategy (New York: Harper Colophon Books edition, 1963). John F. Lehman and Harvey Sicherman, eds., America the Vulnerable: Our Military Problems and How to Fix Them (FPRI, 2001). Stephen Gale, Michael Radu, and Harvey Sicherman, eds. The War on Terror: Collected Essays, 2001–2006 (FPRI, 2007). Paul Herbert and Michael P. Noonan, eds. American Military History: A Resource for Teachers and Students (FPRI E-Book, 2013). The Best of FPRI’s Essays on National Security, 2005-2015, which has been compiled in honor of FPRI’s 60th Anniversary, is part of a series being produced by each of FPRI’s research programs throughout 2015. Tally Helfont, ed. The Best of FPRI’s Essays on the Middle East. Philadelphia: FPRI, March 2015. E-book. Maia Otarashvili, ed. The Best of FPRI’s Essays on Democratic Transitions. Philadelphia: FPRI, July 2015. E-book. Ronald Granieri, ed. The Best of FPRI’s Essays on America and the West. Philadelphia: FPRI, July 2015. E-book. FOREWORD By Michael P. Noonan, Director, Program on National Security September 2015 Matters of national security have concerned the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) ever since its founding in 1955. They are especially concerning during times of war—as the United States has been every day since September 11, 2001. But today’s national security threats are not solely related to matters of terrorism. The contemporary geopolitical environment contains myriad threats and challengers to the United States and its interests. National security is a complex and multifaceted topic. This book demonstrates this reality by presenting both breadth and depth across topics ranging from grand strategy to military culture, from nuclear deterrence to irregular warfare. While the articles offer snapshots of individual events over the past ten years, the overall coverage should, like Janus, allow the reader both to look back in time and also to contemplate the future. Such looking forward and backward will be essential for coping with the challenges the United States confronts against threats and challengers such as, to name just a few, the Islamic State, a revanchist Russia, or a rising China. Legitimate questions will also arise over what the nation’s priorities should be and what areas of the budget should be well funded and which areas should be less well funded. Those are points of genuine debate. This work will have succeeded if it spurs such debate and promotes civic literacy on the broad topic of national security. This volume honors the 60th anniversary of the Institute by presenting a collection of writings published by FPRI and produced by both FPRI and non-FPRI scholars over the past decade. It is a large collection of writing. It has to be because much has happened. The layout of the sections here should allow those readers not interested in reading the entire volume to jump around to particular authors or subjects of interest. If you enjoy what you find here, visit us on the web to read, see, and hear more—or even better, become a member, a member at a higher level, or a partner, and support the sustained production of quality scholarship and analysis on national security. i | FPRI Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................... i By Michael P. Noonan, Director, Program on National Security Part I: Grand Strategy ............................................................................................................ 1 History and Strategies: Grand, Maritime, and American ........................................................ 2 By Walter McDougall Geopolitics Reborn ............................................................................................................. 18 By Colin Dueck Principle and Prudence in American Foreign Policy .............................................................. 26 By Mackubin Thomas Owens Retrenchment Chic: The Dangers of Offshore Balancing ...................................................... 30 By Hal Brands Part II: Defense Policy .......................................................................................................... 38 Security Challenges Arising from the Global Economic Crisis .............................................. 39 By the Hon. Dov S. Zakheim Towards a Balanced and Stable Defense .............................................................................. 47 By Frank G. Hoffman The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign: Toward a Defensible Defense Budget .................. 53 By Frank G. Hoffman Sideways: America’s Pivot and its Military Bases in the Asia-Pacific ..................................... 62 By Felix K. Chang Part III: Civil-Military Relations .......................................................................................... 71 Mind the Gap: Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America ............................................... 72 By Michael P. Noonan Dereliction of Duty Redux? ................................................................................................. 82 By Frank G. Hoffman U.S. Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain ................ 88 By Mackubin Thomas Owens What Military Officers Need to Know about Civil-Military Relations .................................. 96 By Mackubin Thomas Owens Part IV: Military Culture .................................................................................................... 106 Next-War-itis, This-War-itis, and the American Military .................................................... 107 By Michael P. Noonan How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War................................. 113 By Dominic Tierney The Marine Mask of War ................................................................................................... 119 By Frank G. Hoffman From Black Boots to Desert Boots: The All-Volunteer Army Experiment Continues ............ 124 By Leonard Wong Part V: Military Instruments