Is There a Dollars and Sense Solution to the Balkan War?
Abstract
There is disorder in the much ballyhooed new world order. The black and white issues of a bipolar world are now shaded in an obscure multipolar gray. The old, familiar paradigms are gone We appear to be entering an era when economic power is as important as military% power relative to how both influence our ability to pursue national security interests. Policy makers, whose job it is to outline strategic national security positions, are having more than a little difficulty in coming to grips with this new reality. Many qualify their approach to designing a new grand strategy with disclaimers that we are in a period of "unpredictability", "uncertainty", "a time of hard choices", of "no easy solutions" and "reassessment". This approach makes for stimulating intellectual and academic debate, but brings us no closer to agreeing on a strategy, grand or overwise, that will serve the national interests. Like it or not maintaining both peace and U.S. influence and prestige in the new world order will mean continued U.S. leadership in world events. U.S. leadership means charting a proactive vice reactive national strategy. A proactive national strategy means that the U.S. must sooner or later confront the Balkan War. After spending an estimated $10 trillion to win the Cold War are the United States national security interests threatened by a bloody civil war in the Balkans? Will this conflict, ironically set in motion in part due to the collapse of the Soviet Union , spread and engulf other countries? Has the U.S. charted the right strategy in dealing with the Balkan War? Are there alternative strategies?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 25, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA440859
Entities
People
- Roger E. Mccauley
Organizations
- National War College