Stealth, Precision, and the Making of American Foreign Policy
Abstract
The end of the Cold War greatly reduced the risk that a limited, peripheral conflict would escalate to a major war between the great powers. It would seem, with this constraint removed, that the United States should be freer to intervene militarily in the affairs of other peoples. Indeed, in the last decade of the twentieth century, the United States intervened militarily as many times as it had during the full forty years of the Cold War, Alternatively, the decision to intervene had always been based on the best interest of Amenca. With the fall of the Soviet Union, America's most vital national interest, its security, was assured, Logic would dictate a less-interventionist foreign policy, as the need to intervene was drastically reduced, This study examines the paradox by investigating the presidential decision making process that leads to military intervention, determining the relative weight for intervention before and after the Cold War, and assessing the importance of technology - in this case the maturity of the combination of stealth aircraft and precision guided weapons - that made the president's decision to intervene after 1990 easier. The president's decision is influenced by six domestic and international factors: national interest, domestic politics, potential for success, potential cost (in lives), public support, and coalition or alliance responsibilities, Tracking changes in the relative influence of each of these factors over time, the importance of promising technological capabilities emerges as much more significant than the shift in balance of power in explaining the increased intervention policies of the United States, Specifically, conclusions are drawn on the real impact of stealth and precision's ability to reduce not only American casualties, but also collateral casualties and damage as well.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA420694
Entities
People
- Raymond P. O'mara
Organizations
- Air University