Naval War College Review Volume 57 Article 1 Number 2 Spring 2004 Full Spring 2004 Issue The .SU . Naval War College Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review Recommended Citation Naval War College, The .SU . (2004) "Full Spring 2004 Issue," Naval War College Review: Vol. 57 : No. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol57/iss2/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Naval War College: Full Spring 2004 Issue N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW R E V I E W Spring 2004 Volume LVII, Number 2 Spring 2004 Spring N ES AV T A A L T W S A D R E C T I O N L L U E E G H E T R I VI IBU OR A S CT MARI VI Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2004 1 Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College Review, Vol. 57 [2004], No. 2, Art. 1 Cover A Landsat-7 image (taken on 27 July 2000) of the Lena Delta on the Russian Arctic coast, where the Lena River emp- ties into the Laptev Sea. The Lena, which flows northward some 2,800 miles through Siberia, is one of the largest rivers in the world; the delta is a pro- tected wilderness area, the largest in Rus- sia. Russia is the subject of a “cluster” of articles in this issue, including a striking proposal for disposing of Russia’s re- maining tactical nuclear weapons, and two historical studies—of a particularly dangerous incident involving the U.S. Sixth Fleet during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and of Stalin’s puzzling program for a battleship navy. For a full-color version of this duotone treatment, visit the “Images in the Re- view” page of the Naval War College Press website. Image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey; further data available from the USGS, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol57/iss2/1 2 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2004.vp Monday, March 29, 2004 8:30:05 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College: Full Spring 2004 Issue NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Spring 2004 Volume LVII, Number 2 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PRESS 686 Cushing Road Newport, RI 02841-1207 Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2004 3 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2004.vp Monday, March 29, 2004 8:29:28 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College Review, Vol. 57 [2004], No. 2, Art. 1 The Naval War College Review was established in 1948 as a forum for discus- sion of public policy matters of interest to the maritime services. The thoughts NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are Professor Inis L. Claude, Jr. not necessarily those of the U.S. government, the U.S. Navy Department, or Dr. Norman Friedman the Naval War College. Professor Colin Gray The journal is published quarterly. Distribution is limited generally to com- Captain Wayne P. Hughes, Jr., U.S. Navy, Ret. mands and activities of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; regu- Professor Paul M. Kennedy lar and reserve officers of U.S. services; foreign officers and civilians having a Professor James R. Kurth present or previous affiliation with the Naval War College; selected U.S. gov- The Honorable Robert J. Murray ernment officials and agencies; and selected U.S. and international libraries, Professor George H. Quester research centers, publications, and educational institutions. Professor Eugene V. Rostow Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale, U.S. Navy, Ret. 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Other Naval War College Offices 401.841.3089 ISSN 0028-1484 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol57/iss2/1 4 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2004.vp Monday, March 29, 2004 8:29:28 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College: Full Spring 2004 Issue CONTENTS President’s Forum . 5 Change and Continuity The U.S. Coast Guard Today. 9 Admiral Thomas H. Collins, U.S. Coast Guard The year 2003 was a watershed for today’s Coast Guard. The Coast Guard’s roles as a military service, as a federal law-enforcement agency, as a regulatory authority, and as a member of the new Department of Homeland Security place it squarely at the center of national initiatives to reduce security risks to our nation. Russia/the Soviet Union A Tale of Two Fleets A Russian Perspective on the 1973 Naval Standoff in the Mediterranean. 27 Lyle J. Goldstein and Yuri M. Zhukov Newly available Russian sources suggest that the superpower naval confrontation during and immediately after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War was more dangerous than has been generally appreciated, and that the Soviet Navy had made remarkable progress in correcting the deficiencies revealed in the Cuban missile crisis only a decade before. The episode is a cautionary case study for the U.S. Navy, which today has another “upstart” navy to consider. Dealing with Russian Tactical Nuclear Weapons Cash for Kilotons . 64 Timothy D. Miller and Jeffrey A. Larsen An important, troubling, and unresolved legacy of the Cold War is the remaining stock of nonstrategic tactical nuclear weapons, many of them obsolete—a complex matter beyond the reach of traditional arms control or cooperative threat reduction, and that Russia, with the predominance of such weapons, is particularly reluctant to address. The West can reduce the threat in a free market manner: by simply buying Russia’s excess weapons and disposing of them. Stalin’s Big-Fleet Program. 87 Milan L. Hauner In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin undertook to build one of the world’s largest navies, a Soviet fleet of battleships and battle cruisers. He did so in the face of well known impediments and shortfalls of geography, finances, and industrial capacity and capability—and in the absence of an obvious and compelling strategic rationale.