Is the United States seriously overcommitted in its worldwide relationships? Donald Nuechterlein examines the foreign policy priorities of the United States as it enters the latter half of the 1980s and contemplates its future international role; he argues that whether the United States remains a superpower into the twenty-first century depends on how it decides its international priorities in this decade and then marshals its resources to defend and enhance them. The hard decisions needed to establish priorities among United States military and economic commitments abroad must be made if the United States is to remain financially strong and emotionally committed to an international rather than an isolationist foreign policy. In this book the author uses a conceptual framework he developed earlier to assess the nature and intensity of specific challenges to United States national interests. Nuechterlein analyzes seven geographical areas of the world in terms of the United States historical interests and suggests the future degree of interest that should be assigned to them. He also classifies thirty countries, in various parts of the world, in terms of their national interest value to the United States in the coming decade. Finally, he assesses the foreign policies of the Reagan administration in light of national interest priorities. America Overcommitted will be essential reading for makers of American foreign and national security policy, for journalists reporting on international affairs, for scholars seeking better ways to analyze United States foreign policy objectives, and for informed citizens who ask why the United States is involved militarily in all parts of the world. America Overcommitted is thus a guide to better decision making in foreign affairs in this critical decade.

Is the United States seriously overcommitted in its worldwide relationships? Donald Nuechterlein examines the foreign policy priorities of the United States as it enters the latter half of the 1980s and contemplates its future international role; he argues that whether the United States remains a superpower into the twenty-first century depends on how it decides its international priorities in this decade and then marshals its resources to defend and enhance them. The hard decisions needed to establish priorities among United States military and economic commitments abroad must be made if the United States is to remain financially strong and emotionally committed to an international rather than an isolationist foreign policy. In this book the author uses a conceptual framework he developed earlier to assess the nature and intensity of specific challenges to United States national interests. Nuechterlein analyzes seven geographical areas of the world in terms of the United States historical interests and suggests the future degree of interest that should be assigned to them. He also classifies thirty countries, in various parts of the world, in terms of their national interest value to the United States in the coming decade. Finally, he assesses the foreign policies of the Reagan administration in light of national interest priorities. America Overcommitted will be essential reading for makers of American foreign and national security policy, for journalists reporting on international affairs, for scholars seeking better ways to analyze United States foreign policy objectives, and for informed citizens who ask why the United States is involved militarily in all parts of the world. America Overcommitted is thus a guide to better decision making in foreign affairs in this critical decade.

When the first edition of America Recommitted was published in 1991, the world was passing through a period of sweeping political and social change. The Cold War was over; China had reverted to harsh authoritarian rule; U.S.-led forces were deployed in Saudi Arabia for potential military action against Iraq; the Soviet Union was on the verge of disintegration; and the unraveling of Yugoslavia had set the stage for brutal ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo. In the midst of this widespread upheaval, the United States reassessed its own role as the sole remaining superpower—a process that continues today. This new edition features three new chapters that assess U.S. foreign policy during the last two years of the Bush presidency and the first seven years of the Clinton administration, bringing new data and insights to the questions that have challenged U.S. policymakers during the 1990s.

Donald E. Nuechterlein examines George W. Bush's transformation of American foreign policy and the repercussions for the future. Defiant Superpower recounts how the Bush administration's bold actions in response to September 11, 2001, toppled the Taliban and displayed American strength. But by 2002, much of the world, including our allies, had become alarmed by American assertiveness, particularly Bush's proclamation that America would pursue preventative wars to eliminate future threats. The divergence of national interests between the United States and old allies became acute in early 2003 when Germany and France openly rejected U.S. plans to invade Iraq and bring about regime change. While the Bush administration's defiant and unilateralist policies initially seemed to empower the United States to pursue its national interests, the pitfalls of this new American hegemony are now apparent. Occupying Iraq and engaging in a global "war on terror" are costly, in both human and economic terms, and the United States would benefit from broad-based international cooperation. Will Bush's reelection mean that the robust hegemony of his first term is here to stay, or will he moderate his style and objectives to mend fences with old allies? Defiant Superpower offers a balanced critique of recent foreign policy and suggests how policymakers should recognize the limits of the new hegemony in order to determine America's realistic national interests.

This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy continues to reflect the structure and approach of the core national security strategy and policy curriculum at the War College. The 5th Edition is published in two volumes that correspond roughly to the Department of National Security and Strategy¿s core courses: ¿Theory of War and Strategy¿ and ¿National Security Policy and Strategy.¿ Like previous editions, this one is based on its predecessor but contains both updates and new scholarship. Over a third of the chapters are new or have undergone significant rewrites. Many chapters, some of which appeared for years in this work, have been removed. Nevertheless, the book remains unchanged in intent and purpose. Although this is not primarily a textbook, it does reflect both the method and manner we use to teach strategy formulation to America¿s future senior leaders. The book is not a comprehensive or exhaustive treatment of either strategic theory or the policymaking process. Both volumes are organized to proceed from the general to the specific. Thus, the first volume opens with general thoughts on the nature and theory of war and strategy, proceeds to look at the complex aspect of power, and concludes with specific theoretical issues. Similarly, the second volume begins by examining the policy/strategy process, moves to a look at the strategic environment, and concludes with some specific issues. This edition continues the effort begun in the 4th Edition to include several short case studies to illustrate the primary material in the volume.

For more than 3 decades, the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Department of National Security and Strategy has faced the challenge of educating future strategic leaders on the subject of national security, or grand strategy. Fitting at the top of an officer's or government official's career-long professional development program, this challenge has been to design a course on strategy that incorporates its many facets in a short period of time, all within the 1-year, senior service college curriculum. To do this, a conceptual approach has provided the framework to think about strategy formulation. The purpose of this volume is to present the USAWC strategy formulation model to students and practitioners. This book serves as a guide to one method for the formulation, analysis, and study of strategy--an approach which we have found to be useful in providing generations of strategists with the conceptual tools to think systematically, strategically, critically, creatively, and big. Balancing what is described in the chapters as ends, ways, and means remains at the core of the Army War College's approach to national security and military strategy and strategy formulation.