The creation of U. S. Northern Command on 1 October 2002 brought up concerns by civil libertarians and others about the implications of using American military combat forces inside the borders of the United States and raised posse comitatus questions. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prevents military forces from taking on law enforcement roles [...]
Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, is strengthening civilian control of the military in a far more effective method than did Donald Rumsfeld. Instead of running rampant over the Generals or belittling them publicly, as did Rumsfeld, Gates discovered wrong-doing or inefficient behavior, investigates, and then disciplines. This will send a stronger signal to the military [...]
Theoretical thought about "deterrence" falls into the same line as "grand strategy." We essentially have not had any grand strategy in the United States since the fall of the Soviet Union. Perhaps this will help stimulate some theoretical talk and writing on what we ought to be doing in the future. As noted by Dr. [...]
As reported by Military Times, most are now aware that the U. S. Air Force unknowingly transported six nuclear weapons on a B-52 bomber from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. This means, necessarily, that for some period of time those six weapons were not under control, at least [...]
A credibility gap exists between the threat of nuclear weapons and current conventional capability. While there is little doubt that adversaries take American possession of nuclear weapons seriously for the deterrence of nuclear and major power war, there is room to question U. S. willingness to use them for anything short of an “enemy-at-the-gates” [...]
Nuclear proliferation has been a nightmare scenario since the end of World War II. The thought of nuclear annihilation was a constant focusing mechanism during the Cold War. However, it appeared to be a manageable issue when the only two countries with such weapons were the United States and the Soviet Union. With more and [...]
