This work was designed to establish a sense of history and perspective for the study and teaching of national security. It is also intended to bring a sense of balance to current debates on national security policy. This is accomplished by presenting selected official U.S. documents covering the past thirty years, a careful reading of which not only provides valuable insights into the policy process but also into the meaning of American values. Rather than giving a comprehensive picture, this volume is designed to portray the critical reference points in the periods and events examined, and to identify the attitudes of the times. The book primarily treats the period from 1950 to the mid-1980s, although the first document examined is the National Security Act of 1947. The documents examined cover the national security establishment, new defense policies such as counterinsurgency, the events of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, nuclear strategy, the Reagan reassertion, and congressional constraints on the executive branch of government. A number of foreign and national security policy references were used as background and guides; these are listed in the Select Bibliography.

Covering the transition from the Cold War to an uncertain post-Cold War era, this volume shows policy makers and political leaders grappling with the loss of a paradigm that provided intellectual stability for 50 years. It examines changes in the security landscape, institutions, weapons, and U.S. military actions. The volume includes U.S. government documents from 1987 to 1994 covering national security institutions, changing visions of the international security landscape, post-Cold War East-West relations, nuclear strategy and arms control, and U.S. involvement in Central America, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Haiti. Each chapter begins with an introduction to frame the issues, events, and policy proposals. An introductory chapter establishes a framework for the study of U.S. national security. The concluding chapter is a note on primary research sources on the subject.

This volume establishes a sense of history and perspective in the study and teaching of contemporary national security. A careful reading of these documents should bring insights into the policy process along with the meaning of American values, interests, and national strategy--at least from the perspective of U.S. government officials. In this respect, the primary documents speak for themselves.

This is the first systematic study of the Stimson Doctrine of Nonrecognition as applied to Lithuania and the other Baltic States. The book blends political history, U.S. public policy formulation and implementation, and international law to present a complete picture of the development of the Nonrecognition Policy since the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940. The book presents the strengths and practical weaknesses of the policy in the context of diplomacy and international relations, as well as the difficulties encountered by Washington in preserving it. Vitas argues that the Nonrecognition Policy has been an effective one in terms of the goals and intentions of the Roosevelt and subsequent administrations.

Following the introduction, the book covers the prelude to occupation and the incorporation of Lithuania into the USSR. The next chapter covers the Stimson Doctrine, nonrecognition, and aspects of international law. The fourth chapter focuses on the genesis of the U.S. Nonrecognition Policy. Chapter five covers the political and legal effects of Nonrecognition and offers a detailed look at the status of the Lithuanian government during this period. Next, the book covers the wartime politics and discusses the Baltic and implications for US-USSR relations. After several case studies that feature the postwar Baltic repatriation and the Simas Kudirka Incident, the concluding chapter looks at Lithuanian diplomatic continuity and its political future in the 1990s. This book should be of interest to academics engaged in research in international law, public policy, and Soviet-East European studies.