Reconstituting America's Defense - (Literature; 34) by James J Tritten & Paul Stockton (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book analyzes President Bush's new Regional Defense Strategy--the master plan that will guide the transformation of U.S. defense policy for the post-Cold War era. Most recent books on defense prescribe how U.S. policy ought to change or critique past policies without taking Bush's new strategy into account. This book takes a different approach, providing the first comprehensive assessment of the new Regional Defense Strategy, analyzing the consequences for U.S. forces and alliance relations, and examining the political difficulties of transforming President Bush's vision into reality. It explains major changes in U.S. defense doctrine and strategy, force and command structure, future programming requirements, and the major question of how such a significant change was managed in the United States.

Much is new and even radical about the Regional Defense Strategy. Bush has built it around the concept of reconstitution, under which the United States will scrap the forces needed to fight a large-scale conflict and rely on the ability to create new forces if such a conflict looms on the horizon. However, reconstitution will impose demanding requirements on U.S. intelligence and the defense industrial base. Congress will also have an important say over this proposal and the new national security strategy as a whole. So will U.S. allies in Europe and the Far East, some of whom are already moving to recast the strategy's proposals for basing U.S. forces abroad. The primary audience of this book is politico-military strategic planners and those interested in organizational theory, management of change in large organizations, and government policy.

Book Synopsis

This book analyzes President Bush's new Regional Defense Strategy--the master plan that will guide the transformation of U.S. defense policy for the post-Cold War era. Most recent books on defense prescribe how U.S. policy ought to change or critique past policies without taking Bush's new strategy into account. This book takes a different approach, providing the first comprehensive assessment of the new Regional Defense Strategy, analyzing the consequences for U.S. forces and alliance relations, and examining the political difficulties of transforming President Bush's vision into reality. It explains major changes in U.S. defense doctrine and strategy, force and command structure, future programming requirements, and the major question of how such a significant change was managed in the United States.

Much is new and even radical about the Regional Defense Strategy. Bush has built it around the concept of reconstitution, under which the United States will scrap the forces needed to fight a large-scale conflict and rely on the ability to create new forces if such a conflict looms on the horizon. However, reconstitution will impose demanding requirements on U.S. intelligence and the defense industrial base. Congress will also have an important say over this proposal and the new national security strategy as a whole. So will U.S. allies in Europe and the Far East, some of whom are already moving to recast the strategy's proposals for basing U.S. forces abroad. The primary audience of this book is politico-military strategic planners and those interested in organizational theory, management of change in large organizations, and government policy.

Review Quotes

?. . . thought-provoking essays by experts in their fields . . . The result is useful for real and would-be strategic thinkers.?-Proceedings

?Reconstituting America's Defense shed considerable light on the challenges, priorities, goals, and uncertainties involved in planning, implementing, and maintaining a viable national security strategy to protect U.S. interests in the uncertain and turbulent years ahead. Highly recommended for defense professionals and general readers alike.?-SEA POWER

?You are left with a much clearer understanding of what's driving all the changes, as well as a bit of trepidation on whether we're exposing our flanks again." ARMOR "Reconstituting America's Defense is a readable, thought-provoking discussion of the implications of President Bush's August 2, 1990, Aspen, Colorado speech wherein a National Security Strategy (NSS) for America in the New World Order was delineated.?-The Friday Review of Defense Literature

." . . thought-provoking essays by experts in their fields . . . The result is useful for real and would-be strategic thinkers."-Proceedings

"Reconstituting America's Defense shed considerable light on the challenges, priorities, goals, and uncertainties involved in planning, implementing, and maintaining a viable national security strategy to protect U.S. interests in the uncertain and turbulent years ahead. Highly recommended for defense professionals and general readers alike."-SEA POWER

"You are left with a much clearer understanding of what's driving all the changes, as well as a bit of trepidation on whether we're exposing our flanks again." ARMOR "Reconstituting America's Defense is a readable, thought-provoking discussion of the implications of President Bush's August 2, 1990, Aspen, Colorado speech wherein a National Security Strategy (NSS) for America in the New World Order was delineated."-The Friday Review of Defense Literature

About the Author

JAMES J. TRITTEN is an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School. His primary research areas are strategic planning and the Soviet military. Dr. Tritten is a retired Navy Commander and a former Assistant Director, Net Assessment, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

PAUL N. STOCKTON is an Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Stockton is a former Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.