What happens if we bet too heavily on unmanned systems, cyber warfare, and special operations in our defense? In today's U.S. defense policy debates, big land wars are out. Drones, cyber weapons, special forces, and space weapons are in. Accordingly, Pentagon budget cuts have honed in on the army and ground forces: this, after the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, seems like an appealing idea. No one really wants American boots on the ground in bloody conflicts abroad. But it is not so easy to simply declare an end to messy land wars. A survey of the world's trouble spots suggests that land warfare has more of a future than many now seem to believe. In The Future of Land Warfare, Michael O'Hanlon offers an analysis of the future of the world's ground forces: Where are large-scale conflicts or other catastrophes most plausible? Which of these could be important enough to require the option of a U.S. military response? And which of these could in turn demand significant numbers of American ground forces in their resolution? O'Hanlon is not predicting or advocating big American roles in such operations—only cautioning against overconfidence that we can and will avoid them. O'Hanlon considers a number of illustrative scenarios in which large conventional forces may be necessary: discouraging Russia from even contemplating attacks against the Baltic states; discouraging China from considering an unfriendly future role on the Korean peninsula; handling an asymmetric threat in the South China Sea with the construction and protection of a number of bases in the Philippines and elsewhere; managing the aftermath of a major and complex humanitarian disaster superimposed on a security crisis—perhaps in South Asia; coping with a severe Ebola outbreak not in the small states of West Africa but in Nigeria, at the same time that country falls further into violence; addressing a further meltdown in security conditions in Central America.

Terrorism: Commentary on Security Documents is a series that provides primary source documents and expert commentary on various topics relating to the worldwide effort to combat terrorism, as well as efforts by the United States and other nations to protect their national security interests. Volume 144, Autonomous and Semiautonomous Weapons Systems, examines the impact of robots and autonomous and semiautonomous weapons systems on the waging of modern warfare. It considers the likely effects of emerging technological innovations in this area from both a political and strategic standpoint, in addition to considering the implications of such technologies within the context of the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law. This volume is divided into three sections: (1) U.S. policy and approaches to the use of autonomous and semiautonomous weapons systems; (2) U.S. armed forces use of such weapons systems; and (3) potential terrorist use of such weapons systems. Official policy documents from the DoD and the U.S. Army and Air Force are complemented by reports from the Strategic Studies Institute/Army War College Press and other U.S. military sources.

This "Strategic Shift" study examines important changes in U.S. defense planning unveiled by the Department of Defense (DOD) during 2012 and early 2013. Through a series of strategic and operational documents DOD has put forth an interlocking set of changes that placed greater emphasis on the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, created a new force-sizing construct, adopted new operational concepts, trimmed the U.S. force structure and defense budget, and called for enhanced cooperation with global partners. These strategies and concepts were developed under to the levels of the FY13 Defense budget submission and are carried forth in the FY14 Defense budget submission. This study describes these changes, evaluates them, and addresses the challenges of implementation. In particular, it recommends that DOD "double down" in its pursuit of globally integrated operations through joint force integration in the context of the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations and the cross-domain synergy needed to operate effectively in the face of sophisticated adversaries. These are likely to be important in any strategic context. This study's conclusions and recommendations are not altered by DOD's budget request in FY14, though effective implementation will be more challenging.

This textbook provides an accessible overview of US defense politics. This edition has been fully updated and revised, with a new chapter on intelligence and new material on unmanned drones, women in the military, the Tea Party, and other key issues.

This paper examines major changes in U.S. defense plans and priorities that the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued through high level strategy and other guidance documents during 2012 and the beginning of 2013. It recommends that DOD "double down" in its pursuit of globally integrated operations through joint force integration in the context of the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations and the cross-domain synergy needed to operate effectively in the face of sophisticated adversaries.

Twenty-First Century Intelligence collects the thinking of some of the foremost experts on the future of intelligence in our new century. The essays contained in this volume are set against the backdrop of the transforming events of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Intelligence plays a central and highly visible role in the global war on terror, and in new doctrines of global pre-emption of threats. Yet the challenges for intelligence services are great as the twenty-first century unfolds. This collection will inform and stimulate new thinking about the current strengths and weaknesses of intelligence services, and about the future paths that they may follow. Behind the controversies of the present over intelligence performance, lie critical questions about how the past and future of an often mysterious but critical arm of the state are linked. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Intelligence and National Security.

The Routledge Companion to Intelligence Studies provides a broad overview of the growing field of intelligence studies. The recent growth of interest in intelligence and security studies has led to an increased demand for popular depictions of intelligence and reference works to explain the architecture and underpinnings of intelligence activity. Divided into five comprehensive sections, this Companion provides a strong survey of the cutting-edge research in the field of intelligence studies: Part I: The evolution of intelligence studies; Part II: Abstract approaches to intelligence; Part III: Historical approaches to intelligence; Part IV: Systems of intelligence; Part V: Contemporary challenges. With a broad focus on the origins, practices and nature of intelligence, the book not only addresses classical issues, but also examines topics of recent interest in security studies. The overarching aim is to reveal the rich tapestry of intelligence studies in both a sophisticated and accessible way. This Companion will be essential reading for students of intelligence studies and strategic studies, and highly recommended for students of defence studies, foreign policy, Cold War studies, diplomacy and international relations in general.