Naval War College Review Volume 59 Article 1 Number 4 Autumn 2006 Full Autumn 2006 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 . (2006) "Full Autumn 2006 Issue," Naval War College Review: Vol. 59 : No. 4 , Article 1. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss4/1 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 Autumn 2006 Issue NAVAL WA R C OLLEGE REVIEW NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Autumn 2006 Volume 59, Number 4 Autumn 2006 Autumn N ES AV T A A L T W S A D R E C T I O L N L U E E G H E T I VIRIBU OR A S CT MARI VI Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006 1 Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College Review, Vol. 59 [2006], No. 4, Art. 1 Cover The Sinai Peninsula, as seen from the space shuttle Challenger (mission STS- 41G) in October 1984. Clearly visible, stretching from the Mediterranean on the right through the Great Bitter Lake to the Red Sea, is the Suez Canal, scene of the Suez Crisis of 1956, a half-century ago this year. Those momentous events are recalled and assessed in this issue by Michael Coles, a former Royal Navy officer. The photo appears in The Home Planet (1988), edited by Kevin W. Kelley for the Association of Space Explorers in Houston, Texas, by courtesy of which we reproduce it. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss4/1 2 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:35 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College: Full Autumn 2006 Issue NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Autumn 2006 Volume 59, Number 4 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PRESS 686 Cushing Road Newport, RI 02841-1207 Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006 3 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:37 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College Review, Vol. 59 [2006], No. 4, Art. 1 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PRESS ADVISORY BOARD DEAN OF NAVAL WARFARE STUDIES Professor Inis L. Claude, Jr. Robert C. Rubel Dr. Norman Friedman Dr. Carnes Lord, Editor Professor Colin Gray Pelham G. Boyer, Managing Editor Capt. Wayne P. Hughes, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) Phyllis P. Winkler, Book Review Editor Professor Paul M. Kennedy Lori A. Almeida, Secretary and Circulation Manager Professor James R. Kurth Frank Uhlig, Jr., Editor Emeritus The Honorable Robert J. Murray Professor George H. Quester EDITORIAL OFFICES Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, Naval War College Review U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) Code 32, Naval War College The Honorable G. William Whitehurst 686 Cushing Rd., Newport, RI 02841-1207 Fax: 401.841.1071 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW EDITORIAL BOARD DSN exchange, all lines: 948 Col. James Conklin, USMC, Naval War College Website: www.nwc.navy.mil/press Audrey Kurth Cronin, Oxford University Editor, Circulation, or Business Peter Dombrowski, Naval War College 401.841.2236 Stephen Downes-Martin, Naval War College [email protected] Lt. Cdr. Derek S. Reveron, USNR, Naval War College Col. Theodore L. Gatchel, USMC (Ret.), Managing Editor Naval War College 401.841.4552 Capt. Dennis Mandsager, JAGC, USN (Ret.), [email protected] Naval War College Newport Papers, Books William C. Martel, The Fletcher School [email protected] Col. Mackubin Owens, USMC (Ret.), Essays and Book Reviews Naval War College 401.841.6584 Capt. Peter M. Swartz, USN (Ret.), [email protected] Center for Naval Analyses Other Naval War College Offices Scott C. Truver, Anteon Corporation 401.841.3089 Karl F. Walling, Naval War College James J. Wirtz, Naval Postgraduate School PRESIDENT, NAVAL WAR COLLEGE Rear Adm. Jacob L. Shuford, U.S. Navy PROVOST AND DEAN OF ACADEMICS Dr. James F. Giblin, Jr. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss4/1 4 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:38 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College: Full Autumn 2006 Issue The Naval War College Review was established in 1948 as a forum for discussion of public policy matters of interest to the maritime services. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the U.S. government, the U.S. Navy Department, or the Naval War College. The journal is published quarterly. Distribution is limited generally to commands and activities of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard; regular and reserve officers of U.S. services; foreign officers and civilians having a present or previous affiliation with the Naval War College; selected U.S. government officials and agen- cies; and selected U.S. and international libraries, research centers, publications, and educational institutions. Contributors Please request the standard contributors’ guidance from the managing editor or access it online before submitting manuscripts. The Naval War College Review nei- ther offers nor makes compensation for articles or book reviews, and it assumes no responsibility for the return of manuscripts, although every effort is made to return those not accepted. In submitting work, the sender warrants that it is original, that it is the sender’s property, and that neither it nor a similar work by the sender has been accepted or is under consideration elsewhere. Permissions Reproduction and reprinting are subject to the Copyright Act of 1976 and appli- cable treaties of the United States. To obtain permission to reproduce material bearing a copyright notice, or to reproduce any material for commercial pur- poses, contact the editor for each use. Material not bearing a copyright notice may be freely reproduced for academic or other noncommercial use; however, it is requested that the author and Naval War College Review be credited and that the editor be informed. Periodicals postage paid at Newport, R.I. POSTMASTERS, send address changes to: Naval War College Review, Code 32S, Naval War College, 686 Cushing Rd., Newport, R.I. 02841-1207. ISSN 0028-1484 Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006 5 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:38 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College Review, Vol. 59 [2006], No. 4, Art. 1 https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol59/iss4/1 6 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:41 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen Naval War College: Full Autumn 2006 Issue CONTENTS From the Editors . 4 President’s Forum. 7 Asia Rising China’s Aircraft Carrier Dilemma . 13 Andrew S. Erickson and Andrew R. Wilson What even a modest aircraft carrier can do, in a variety of roles, has impressed itself upon the Chinese. They have avoided buying the wrong platform at the wrong time—conventional large-deck ships may no longer be their “gold standard”—but aircraft carriers of some kind may yet complement their submarine-centered navy. Maritime Geostrategy and the Development of the Chinese Navy in the Early Twenty-first Century . 47 Xu Qi translated by Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein A Senior Captain in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, writing in 2004 in China’s most prestigious military journal, surveys the now favorable geostrategic environment for accelerated Chinese maritime development, thereby articulating a rationale for a PLA Navy that is prepared to “defend a larger scope.” Leadership and Decision Rumsfeld, the Generals, and the State of U.S. Civil-Military Relations . 68 Mackubin Thomas Owens Uniformed officers have an obligation to stand up to civilian leaders if they think a policy is flawed. But once a policy decision is made, soldiers are obligated to carry it out. The idea that a general or admiral should publicly attack government policy and its civilian authors in time of war is dangerous. Fort Fisher Amphibious Victory in the American Civil War . 81 Gary J. Ohls The first attack on Fort Fisher, during the American Civil War, failed utterly; the second succeeded magnificently. The commanders of the latter learned from the experience of the former; the lessons of both attempts were valuable for the great amphibious operations of the mid-twentieth century, and they remain instructive today. Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2006 7 C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Autumn2006.vp Tuesday, October 10, 2006 8:30:41 AM Color profile: Disabled Composite Default screen 2 NAVAL WAR COLLEGENaval War REVIEW College Review, Vol. 59 [2006], No. 4, Art. 1 Suez, 1956 A Successful Naval Operation Compromised by Inept Political Leadership . 100 Michael H. Coles The British and French forces that saw action during the abortive Suez invasion of 1956 produced a “copybook” performance in military terms. But flawed political decisions are likely to lead to flawed operational strategy, and today the entire episode is remembered as an embarrassing failure. In My View . 119 Research & Debate Is the PSI Really the Cornerstone of a New International Norm? . 123 Mark J. Valencia Review Essays Technologies That May Yet Revolutionize Warfare . 131 The E-Bomb: How America’s New Directed Energy Weapons Will Change the Way Future Wars Will Be Fought, by Doug Beason reviewed by William C.