|
Showing 1 - 4 of
4 matches in All Departments
Established during World War II to advise the President regarding
the strategic direction of the armed forces of the United States,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) continued in existence after the
war and, as military advisers and planners, have played a
significant role in the development of national policy. Knowledge
of JCS relations with the President, the National Security Council,
and the Secretary of Defense in the years since World War II is
essential to an understanding of their current work. An account of
their activity in peacetime and during times of crisis provides,
moreover, an important series of chapters in the military history
of the United States. For these reasons, the Joint Chiefs of Staff
directed that an official history be written for the record. Its
value for instructional purposes, for the orientation of officers
newly assigned to the JCS organization, and as a source of
information for staff studies will be readily recognized. The
series, The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, treats the
activities of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since the close of World
War II. Because of the nature of the activities of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff as well as the sensitivity of the sources, the volumes of
the series were originally prepared in classified form.
Classification designations, in text and footnotes, are those that
appeared in the original classified volume. Following review and
declassification, the initial four volumes, covering the years
1945-1952 and the Korean War, were distributed in unclassified form
within the Department of Defense and copies were deposited with the
National Archives and Records Administration. These volumes are now
being made available as official publications. Volume IV describes
JCS activities during 1951-1952 except for activities related to
Korea which are covered in Volume III and activities related to
Indochina which are covered in a separate series. The outline for
this volume was developed by Dr. Walter S. Poole under the guidance
of Mr. Kenneth W. Condit. Dr. Poole performed the research and
drafted the manuscript under the successive direction of Mr.
Condit, Dr. Robert J. Watson, and Mr. James F. Schnabel. Some of
Dr. Poole's draft chapters were also reviewed by Mr. Vernon E.
Davis, former Chief of the Histories Branch. Ultimately, Dr. Poole
assumed full responsibility for the volume.
In shaping policy towards Somalia, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, the Vice Chairman, and the Joint Staff had to advise how
US military forces could execute an evolving range of missions
"other than war" humanitarian relief and suppression of banditry,
followed by peace enforcement with international forces under
United Nations (UN) command, all accompanied by a nation-building
effort. The experience of the Vietnam War, where US military
involvement deepened while political goals remained misty, shaped
their thinking. From the beginning, these officers sought a
definition of the political goals or "end-state" in Somalia. Yet,
despite their efforts, US objectives underwent repeated change.
Press images of a massive famine provoked US intervention in
Somalia. Severe drought destroyed local crops and famine resulted
when marauding gangs seized food and blocked the distribution of
relief supplies. Minimizing risks for US forces by confining them
to ensuring the flow of aid also meant minimizing their role in
political reconciliation and reconstruction. On the other hand,
widening US military missions could further the attainment of
political objectives but risked American casualties. Such losses
eventually did turn public opinion against continued US involvement
there. In August 1992, as C-130s began an airlift of relief
supplies, the Joint Staff warned about the danger of being drawn
into an open-ended commitment. The State Department, on the other
hand, recommended committing US ground troops to guard food
distribution facilities at "points of security." The Joint Staff
warned against such a "long-term commitment of resources in a
no-win situation," and the Deputies Committee (DC) of the National
Security Council (NSC) chose to seek UN forces for such tasks.
Written several years after the end of operations by US forces in
Somalia, this monograph focuses specifically on the involvement of
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff in
planning and directing the operations in Somalia from August 1992
to March 1994. The study begins with a discussion of the conditions
and circumstances that, in August 1992, led President George H. W.
Bush to direct the American military to support relief efforts in
Somalia and ends with the final withdrawal of US forces in 1994.
Faced with the need to establish unified command of US military
forces in peacetime, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1946 created an
organizational directive, the "Outline Command Plan," which was the
first in a series of documents known as Unified Command Plans.
Approved by the President, the Unified Command Plan prescribes high
level command arrangements for operational forces on a global
basis; its structure and the organizational philosophies that
structure represents have had a major impact on US military
operations in the post-World War II era. Thus the history of the
Unified Command Plan is a useful guide for those engaged in the
development of current military policy and strategy as well as an
important reference for students of US policy and strategy during
the Cold War. The History of the Unified Command Plan, 1946-1993,
covers the formulation of the plan, modifications, and periodic
revisions. This volume is a compilation of three separate histories
which were originally classified.
Written several years after the end of operations by US forces in
Somalia, this monograph focuses specifically on the involvement of
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff in
planning and directing the operations in Somalia from August 1992
to March 1994. The study begins with a discussion of the conditions
and circumstances that, in August 1992, led President George H. W.
Bush to direct the American military to support relief efforts in
Somalia and ends with the final withdrawal of US forces in 1994.
The author, Dr. Walter S. Poole, relied primarily on Joint Staff
files and interviews as sources of information.
|
You may like...
Tenet
John David Washington, Robert Pattinson
Blu-ray disc
(1)
R54
R45
Discovery Miles 450
|