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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > General
This book explores the impact of war and political crisis on the national identity of Jews, both in the multinational Habsburg monarchy and in the new nation-states that replaced it at the end of the First World War. Jews enthusiastically supported the Austrian war effort because it allowed them to assert their Austrian loyalties and Jewish solidarity at the same time. They faced a grave crisis of identity when the multinational state collapsed and they lived in nation-states mostly uncomfortable with ethnic minorities. This book raises important questions about Jewish identity, and about the nature of ethnic and national identity in general.
This book maps the increasing convergence of US domestic and international security regimes, analyzing the trend towards global pacification in the name of 'security'. The dream of liberal world peace after the Cold War is on the verge of collapsing into permanent global pacification not only in the global south but also in pockets of the Third World within the territory of Western states. In this volume, the author explores the ways in which regimes of security have been extended into increasingly large aspects of social life and shows that their expansion has been driven by a constant broadening of the notion of 'war'. Filling a gap in the literature, the book demonstrates how US security agencies have sought to develop indeterminate security capabilities aimed at distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate flows of people and resources. This analysis of regimes of security is tied to a more general discussion about the persistence, or even multiplication, of illiberal forms of power within liberal governmentality. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, war and conflict studies and international relations in general.
In recent years, the south-western border of the United States has come under increasing pressure from the activities of Mexican narco-insurgents. These insurgents have developed rapidly from beginnings as nebulous gangs into networked cartels that have exposed the porosity of the border. These cartels declare no allegiance to any nation and are engaging in asymmetrical warfare against sovereign states throughout Mexico and in Central America. Within such states, de facto political control is shifting to the cartels in the 'areas of impunity' that have emerged. This book addresses these concerns and focuses on the criminal insurgencies being waged by the gangs and cartels. It is divided into sections on theory, Mexico, and the Americas and contains a number of introductory essays pertaining to this premier security threat to the United States and her allies in the region. Topics covered include criminal and spiritual insurgency, cartel weapons, corruption, feral cities, Los Zetas, politicized gangs, and threat analysis in Central America. This book will be a valuable resource to scholars in the fields of regional security, criminal justice and American Studies. It will be of great benefit to military and civil policymakers and practitioners in the areas of law enforcement and counternarcotics. This book was published as a special issue of Small Wars and Insurgencies.
At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, the colonies faced the daunting task of creating the first American army, and its requisite leadership, capable of combating a global superpower whose standing army and generalship were among the finest in the world. Built largely from state and local militias, the colonial army performed surprisingly well and produced a number of fine generals. Some were experienced before the war, like George Washington of the Virginia Militia and the British-born Horatio Gates, while others were as green as the soldiers they led. This book presents basic biographical information about America's first generals in the Revolutionary War. Included are all generals of the Continental Army, along with those commissioned in the colonies' militias. Drawn from primary sources, including death and census records, records of the Continental Congress, and contemporary writings, each biographical sketch provides date and place of birth, prewar education and occupation, wartime service, date and place of death, and place of burial. Portraits of each general are included where available, and appendices display important statistics, including comparative ages; occupations; officers lost by death, resignation, murder or changing loyalty; and states or countries of origin.
Grand strategy, strategy, and tactics--the three layers of policy and action inherent to all military efforts--are the focus of this historical analysis of the dynamics of the Vietnam War. The American theory of counterrevolutionary warfare is examined in light of American military practice, especially that of the Marine Corps, during the period of America's greatest involvement, 1965-1972, and at the site of the most intense combat, the five northern provinces known as I Corps. Drawing from two schools of thought that diverge over the appropriate strategy America should have pursued in South Vietnam, this inquiry indicates that both the number of troops and their tactical employment proved inadequate for redressing the threat within the parameters America set for itself. Specifically, this work demonstrates that the counterrevolutionary warfare strategy postulated for Vietnam was largely ignored in some quarters, and sowed the seeds of defeat in others.
The battle of Culloden lasted less than an hour. The forces involved on both sides were small, even by the standards of the day. And it is arguable that the ultimate fate of the 1745 Jacobite uprising had in fact been sealed ever since the Jacobite retreat from Derby several months before. But for all this, Culloden is a battle with great significance in British history. It was the last pitched battle on the soil of the British Isles to be fought with regular troops on both sides. It came to stand for the final defeat of the Jacobite cause. And it was the last domestic contestation of the Act of Union of 1707, the resolution of which propelled Great Britain to be the dominant world power for the next 150 years. If the battle itself was short, its aftermath was brutal - with the depredations of the Duke of Cumberland followed by a campaign to suppress the clan system and the Highland way of life. And its afterlife in the centuries since has been a fascinating one, pitting British Whig triumphalism against a growing romantic memorialization of the Jacobite cause. On both sides there has long been a tendency to regard the battle as a dramatic clash, between Highlander and Lowlander, Celt and Saxon, Catholic and Protestant, the old and the new. Yet, as this account of the battle and its long cultural afterlife suggests, while viewing Culloden in such a way might be rhetorically compelling, it is not necessarily good history.
This book outlines the construction, interpretations and understanding of US strategy towards Africa in the early twenty-first century. No single issue or event in the recent decades in Africa has provoked so much controversy and unified hostility and opposition as the announcement by former President George W. Bush of the establishment of the United Stated Africa Command - AFRICOM. The intensity and sheer scale of the unprecedented unity of opposition to AFRICOM across Africa surprised many experts and lead them to ask why such a hostile reaction occurred. This book explores the conception of AFRICOM and the subsequent reaction in two ways. Firstly, the contributors critically engage with the creation and global imperatives for the establishment of AFRICOM and present an analytical outline of African security in relation to and within the context of the history of US foreign and security policy approaches to Africa. Secondly, the book has original chapter contributions by some of the key actors involved in the development and implementation of the AFRICOM project including Theresa Whelan, the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. This is not only an attempt to contribute to the academic and policy-relevant debates based on the views of those who are intimately involved in the design and implementation of the AFRICOM project but also to show, in their own words, that 'America has no clandestine agenda for Africa'. This book will be of interest to students of US foreign policy/national security, strategic studies, international security and African politics. David J. Francis is Chair of African Peace & Conflict Studies in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford.
A noted theorist of globalization offers a complete reconstruction of our national security institutions and strategies to better match today s realities. David A. Westbrook shows how deploying ourselves as statesmen and -women, as citizens can better achieve U.S. national security. Westbrook explains why today s national security establishment is outdated, entrenched in a model of defense befitting the post World War II Cold War era. Today, without military peers, the U.S. must re-create its institutions around wielding influence globally, based on the cooperation of other states and groups. Even when we deploy troops today, our goal is the construction of order, not defense. Westbrook explores radical (including Jihadist) challenges, the long war on terror, and other current topics to show how defense institutions could be reconceived in order to become both more responsible and more effective. His measures include a wholesale revision of the National Security Act of 1947 to radically reform intelligence work by reintegrating it into democratically responsible military and diplomatic bureaucracies."
Highlights "the range and richness of scholarship on medieval warfare, military institutions, and cultures of conflict that characterize the field". History 95 (2010) The latest collection of the most up-to-date research on matters of medieval military history contains a remarkable geographical range, extending from Spain and Britain to the southern steppe lands, by way of Scandinavia, Byzantium, and the Crusader States. At one end of the timescale is a study of population in the later Roman Empire and at the other the Hundred Years War, touching on every century in between. Topics include the hardware of war, the social origins of soldiers, considerations of individual battles, and words for weapons in Old Norse literature. Contributors: Bernard S. Bachrach, Gary Baker, Michael Ehrlich, Nicholas A. Gribit, Nicolaos S. Kanellopoulos,Mollie M. Madden, Kenneth J. McMullen, Craig M. Nakashian, Mamuka Tsurtsumia, Andrew L.J. Villalon
'American Mourning' is the story of the Johnsons and the Sheehans - two families that lost sons in the war against Terror. Their sons were best friends since they first met but the families have little else in common. The way they handled themselves after Casey and Justin's deaths stands in stark contrast.
A noted theorist of globalization offers a complete reconstruction of our national security institutions and strategies to better match today s realities. David A. Westbrook shows how deploying ourselves as statesmen and -women, as citizens can better achieve U.S. national security. Westbrook explains why today s national security establishment is outdated, entrenched in a model of defense befitting the post World War II Cold War era. Today, without military peers, the U.S. must re-create its institutions around wielding influence globally, based on the cooperation of other states and groups. Even when we deploy troops today, our goal is the construction of order, not defense. Westbrook explores radical (including Jihadist) challenges, the long war on terror, and other current topics to show how defense institutions could be reconceived in order to become both more responsible and more effective. His measures include a wholesale revision of the National Security Act of 1947 to radically reform intelligence work by reintegrating it into democratically responsible military and diplomatic bureaucracies."
The drastically altered European security context has forced Western defence planners and analysts to reassess core assumptions, including the future role of NATO. As the organization goes through what may be its most profound restructuring to date, one of the critical issues to be resolved is the stationing of Allied troops in Germany, the Allian
This book consists of extracts from key documents, along with commentary and further reading, on the 'Great Patriotic War' of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, 1941-45. Despite the historical significance of the war, few Soviet documents have been published in English. This work provides translations of a range of extracts from Soviet documents relating to the titanic struggle on the Eastern Front during World War II, with commentary. This is the only single-volume work in English to use documentary evidence to look at the Soviet war effort from military, political, economic and diplomatic perspectives. The book should not only facilitate a deeper study of the Soviet war effort, but also allow more balanced study of what is widely known in the West as the 'Eastern Front'. This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of military history, Soviet history, and World War II history.
The Small Wars of the United States, 1899 2009 is the complete bibliography of works on US military intervention and irregular warfare around the world, as well as efforts to quell insurgencies on behalf of American allies. The text covers conflicts from 1898 to present, with detailed annotations of selected sources. In this second edition, Benjamin R. Beede revises his seminal work, bringing it completely up to date, including entries on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. An invaluable research tool, The Small Wars of the United States, 1899 2009 is a critical resource for students and scholars studying US military history.
January 31, 1968. A cold, dense fog had settled over the city of Hue, South Vietnam. Guards posted at key points around the lightly defended American military advisors' compound stared out into blackness. Nothing could be seen or heard until the blinding flash and shocking concussion of an exploding rocket tore through the fog. A hail of rocket and mortar shells was followed by a ground attack. It was soon obvious to the heterogeneous group (Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force personnel) inside the compound that a large group of people outside the compound wanted to kill them. The Tet battle for Hue was on. The Americans battled for their lives. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Richard Brown had two jobs: leading Forward Air Controllers responsible for the area between the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and DaNang, plus advising General Truong, First ARVN Division Commander, on Air Force support. He lived in the Hue MACV compound and remained in the city during the first seventeen days of the battle. The author began his military career during World War II as a fighter pilot in the Fourteenth Air Force, China, under the command of General Claire Chennault. Called back to active duty during the Korean War, he remained in military service until the end of his duty tour in Vietnam. Curious as to how communism could "benefit" common man, he returned to China in 1980 and Vietnam in 1988.
One of the enduring myths about World War Two is that the Allies alone liberated occupied Europe. However, many countries had successful anti-fascist movements, and Italy's was one of the biggest and most politically radical. Yet it remains relatively unknown outside of its own homeland. Tom Behan tells this inspiring history. Within Italy many plaques and streets commemorate the actions of the partisans - a movement from below that grew as Mussolini's dictatorship unravelled. Led by radical left forces, the Resistance trod a thin line between fighting their enemies at home and maintaining an uneasy working relationship with the Allies. Through the use of unpublished archival material and interviews with surviving partisans, this is an inspiring story of liberation.
Today's protracted asymmetrical conflicts confuse efforts to measure progress, often inviting politics and wishful thinking to replace objective evaluation. In Assessing War, military historians, social scientists, and military officers explore how observers have analyzed the trajectory of war in American conflicts from the Seven Years' War through the war in Afghanistan. Drawing on decades of acquired expertise, the contributors examine wartime assessment in both theory and practice and, through alternative dimensions of assessment such as justice and proportionality, the war of ideas and economics. This group of distinguished authors grapples with both conventional and irregular wars and emerging aspects of conflict-such as cyberwar and nation building-that add to the complexities of the modern threat environment. The volume ends with recommendations for practitioners on best approaches while offering sobering conclusions about the challenges of assessing war without politicization or self-delusion. Covering conflicts from the eighteenth century to today, Assessing War blends focused advice and a uniquely broad set of case studies to ponder vital questions about warfare's past-and its future. The book includes a foreword by Gen. George W. Casey Jr. (USA, Ret.), former chief of staff of the US Army and former commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq.
This book deals with the processes and theories involved in managing military organisations in both peacetime and crisis conditions. Examining the challenges faced by policymakers and military commanders in conducting military operations, this book considers the benefits of conventional management and organisation theory for the military. At the same time, these essays recognise that the military should be considered as a highly individual organisation, operating in exceptional circumstances. This awareness of the differences between the military and other organisations generates important lessons not only for the military but also for general organisations as it teaches them how to cope in exceptional, 'hyper' conditions. These theoretical lessons are illustrated by case studies and experiences from recent military operations, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book will be of great interest to students of military studies, security studies and organizational studies. Joseph Soeters chairs the department of management and organization studies and defence economy at the Netherlands Defense Academy and he is a professor in organizational sociology at Tilburg University. Paul. C. van Fenema is an associate professor of organization studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy and Tilburg University. Robert Beeres is an associate professor in the field of defence accounting and control (business administration) at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at Nyenrode Business School.
This book deals with the processes and theories involved in managing military organisations in both peacetime and crisis conditions. Examining the challenges faced by policymakers and military commanders in conducting military operations, this book considers the benefits of conventional management and organisation theory for the military. At the same time, these essays recognise that the military should be considered as a highly individual organisation, operating in exceptional circumstances. This awareness of the differences between the military and other organisations generates important lessons not only for the military but also for general organisations as it teaches them how to cope in exceptional, 'hyper' conditions. These theoretical lessons are illustrated by case studies and experiences from recent military operations, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book will be of great interest to students of military studies, security studies and organizational studies. Joseph Soeters chairs the department of management and organization studies and defence economy at the Netherlands Defense Academy and he is a professor in organizational sociology at Tilburg University. Paul. C. van Fenema is an associate professor of organization studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy and Tilburg University. Robert Beeres is an associate professor in the field of defence accounting and control (business administration) at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at Nyenrode Business School.
Andrew Dorman introduces Sierra Leone as Blair's second great military adventure after Kosovo and the first he undertook on his own. It is tied to Blair's 1999 Chicago speech on the 'Doctrine of the International Community', his move towards humanitarianism and the impact of the Kosovo experience. The book links this move with the rise of cosmopolitan militaries and the increasing involvement of Western forces in humanitarian operations and their impact on the international system. Furthermore, it places it within the context of defence transformation and the emerging Western expeditionary capabilities, in particular the European Union's new battle group concept and developments in concepts such as Network Centric Warfare and Networked Enabled Capability. Examining the whole campaign and considering the impact on the Blair Government, this book will prove to be a key reader on the topic.
This book provides the first comprehensive study of the
evolution of the Iraqi military from the British mandate era to
post-Baathist Iraq.
Ethnic and sectarian turmoil is endemic to Iraq, and its armed forces have been intertwined with its political affairs since their creation. This study illustrates how the relationship between the military and the political centre in Iraq has evolved, with the military bringing about three regime changes in Iraq's history before being brought under control by Saddam Hussein, up until the 2003 war. The instability that followed was partly due to the failure to create a new military that does not threaten the government, yet is still strong enough to deter rival factions from armed conflict. The reconstitution of the armed forces will be a prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq, but this book argues that immense challenges lie ahead, despite the praise from the Bush administration for the progress of the new Iraqi army.
The changed strategic landscape of the 21st century has driven a shift to more flexible, adaptable capabilities across the spectrum of conflict. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated the validity of team warfare between air and land forces during open hostilities with an enemy. The time has come for innovative counter-air and counter-land concepts focused on medium- to large-scale conventional combat operations that will merge air and ground forces even more effectively into a single potent fighting force. Such is the focus of AirLandBattle21. A basic assumption in this study is that, during major combat operations, a relevant number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) will conduct distributed operations in a non-linear, non-contiguous and geographically separated fashion. The study introduces a flexible counter-air framework that allows for the most efficient use of limited air assets and advocates only the necessary levels of air control in different areas across the theatre. The study also offers alternative views of strategic attack and explores the critical role tactical airlift will play in employing and sustaining the brigade combat team.
During Desert Shield, the Air Force built a very complicated organizational architecture to control large numbers of air sorties. During the air campaign itself, officers at each level of the Central Command Air Forces believed they were managing the chaos of war. Yet, when the activities of the many significant participants are pieced together, it appears that neither the planners nor Lt. Gen. Charles A. Horner, the Joint Force Air Component Commander, knew the details of what was happening in the air campaign or how well the campaign was going. There was little appreciation of the implications of complex organizational architectures for military command and control. Against a smarter and more aggressive foe, the system may well have failed.
This is the first in-depth study to address the financing of the American-Mexican War of 1846-48. Floating the Mexican War loans was the greatest single endeavour of the American financial community during the 1840s. Under President Polk, the Treasury issued three loans totalling $49 000 000. Investment bankers enthusiastically marketed these treasury notes and bonds directly to the international investing public. Cummings argues that the successful financing of the American-Mexican War had a long-term beneficial effect on American financial institutions and markets. At home, the stability of the Independent Treasury was assured, and abroad, America's international credit standing was restored. Most importantly, the dealing of government issue by investment bankers was a decisive step towards modern public finance.
Between January 17 and February 28, 1991, an international military coalition sanctioned by the United Nations and led by the United States defeated a large, well-equipped Iraqi army and forced it to withdraw from occupied Kuwait, in what is now known as the Persian Gulf War. As the first major military action after the end of the Cold War, many view the Gulf War as the precursor of a new military doctrine for conflicts in the 21st century; ground troops from 19 countries around the globe participated in the operation, reflecting the ever-changing environment in post - Cold War politics.From Al Firdos Bunker, a hardened bunker that U.S. intelligence believed was the Iraqi Internal Security Directorate, to Lieutenant General John Yeosock, commander of the U.S. 3rd Army in the Gulf War, this is a comprehensive reference work to the people, places, events, weapons, operations, and other matters in the Persian Gulf War. A chronology is also provided, covering the major events from 1958 through 1991 that led to the rise of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, his invasion of Kuwait, and the rousting of Iraqi forces from that country. |
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