Books

The Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Assessing the Costs of Failure Dr Stephen C Pelletiere, Prof Shibley Telhami, Mr Lawrence R Velte Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "As of mid-1997, the fate of the Arab-Israeli peace process is dangerously uncertain. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision to begin work on a new Jewish settlement in Jerusalem has so enraged Palestinians that they have effectively walked out of the negotiations. President Clinton has called on his special envoy, Dennis Ross, to exert every effort to get the Palestinians to return. Meanwhile, elements opposed to the peace process from within the Israeli political establishment have pressured the Prime Minister to halt or even reverse the steps taken to date."

Command in NATO After the Cold War: Alliance, National, and Multinational Consideration Dr Thomas-Durell Young Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The United States, Mexico, and the Agony of National Security Dr Donald E Schulz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This study analyses the changing nature of U.S.-Mexican national security issues, with a focus on narcotrafficking, the growing militarization of Mexico's counterdrug and police institutions, the danger of spreading guerrilla war, and the prospects of political and economic instability. The conclusion is that Mexico is in the midst of an extended period of transition in which it is extremely vulnerable to disruption on several different fronts simultaneously. While the economy has largely recovered from the 1994-95 peso crisis, it remains both fragile and volatile. Although much progress has been achieved in democratization, there is still a long way to go. Both political and criminal violence are growing. A new guerrilla group has appeared which may prove to be more troublesome than the Zapatistas. At the same time, the drug cartels are increasingly targeting law enforcement officers for assassination."

Why Russian Policy is Failing in Asia Dr Stephen J Blank Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Since its inception as a state, Russia has been both a European and an Asian power. Although Russia today, as was true during much of its history, is torn by an identity crisis over where it belongs, its elites have never renounced Russia's vital interests in Asia and the belief that it should be recognized as a great power there. However, that belief and Moscow's ability to sustain it are now under threat, due, as Dr. Stephen Blank's thorough analysis informs us, to the ongoing failures of Russian policymakers to come to grips with changed Russian and Asian realities."

World View: The 1997 Strategic Assessment from the Strategic Studies Institute Dr Earl H Tilford Jr Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Each January the analysts at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), U.S. Army War College, assess domestic and global trends for the year ahead and beyond as part of a process for devising a strategic context that may be used by Army planners and other policymakers. At this writing, the Army's approach to the future, along with that of the other services, confront the ongoing Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the outcome of which may establish entirely new directions. The global strategic assessments reached by SSI analysts, when considered in conjunction with the roles and missions the Army leadership proposes for the future, will shape SSI's study plan and focus the efforts of our Strategic Outreach Program."

U.S. Participation in IFOR: A Marathon, not a Sprint Dr William T Johnsen Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Notwithstanding the cogent reasons behind the current December 1996 deadline for withdrawing U.S. ground forces from Bosnia, that policy must be reexamined in light of existing strategic conditions. A decision on whether to extend participation in the IFOR or to join in a successor organization will be neither easy nor insignificant. Nonetheless, it will have to be made, and in the not too distant future. Now, therefore, is the time to examine the issues that will determine whether the United States will continue to lead efforts to ensure a lasting political settlement in Bosnia."

Russian Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region: Two Views Dr Stephen J Blank, Maj Gen Anatoly Bolyatko, Prof Peggy Falkenheim Meyer Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Since the conquest of Siberia, Russia has been an Asian and Pacific power. The end of the Cold War transformed this entire region's security structure, a transformation that accelerated when the Soviet Union fell apart and was replaced by Russia. Russia faces new security challenges in this most dynamic of regions, which still holds substantial possibilities of military conflict. But there has been a tendency in the West to overlook the new Russia's place in Asia."

Yemen and Stability in the Persian Gulf: Confronting the Threat from Within Dr Stephen C Pelletiere Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This study looks at Yemen, a small state which over the course of centuries has played a minor--but nonetheless important--part in the history of the Middle East. Yemen's importance derived from its strategic location. At various times great powers wishing to control the Red Sea/Indian Ocean area tried to take over Yemen."

China and the Revolution in Military Affairs Dr Bates Gill, LTC Lonnie Henley Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This paper is organized into four principal sections. The first section will introduce a framework for analysis by first broadly sketching the meaning of a revolution in military affairs (RMA) and offering general background points about China's relationship to past and current RMAs. The body of the paper consists of two principal sections which focus respectively on economic and socio-cultural factors and which affect China's capacity for change, innovation, and adaptability particularly in areas of activity critical to grasping the current RMA. A concluding section will assess how socio-cultural and economic factors will affect China's progress in grasping the current RMA in particular, and its military effectiveness overall."