The war on 2 1/2 fronts doctrine under review by
Andrew Marshall
at the Pentagon. Recent articles in TAP
http://www.prospect.org/print/V12/4/vest-j.html
and the New Yorker by Taylor Branch,
make me think the , "Iron Triangle, " that Gordon Adams
(GW Press Release: GW's Elliott School Names Gordon Adams ...
... I am delighted that Gordon Adams will be joining us ... Dr. Adams served
as associate
director ... He has authored "The Iron Triangle: The Politics of Defense ...
www.gwu.edu/~media/pressreleases/06_03_1999_adams.html )
at IPS wrote of, will be triumphant again, in maintaining current "force
posture, " in order to be able to fight 2 1/2 wars simultaneously.
Michael Pugliese
http://www.fpif.org/progresp/volume5/v5n13_body.html#andrew
ANDREW MARSHALL: FUTURISTIC MILITARISM
By FPIF Editors
(Editor's Note: See the complete profile at
http://www.fpif.org/republicanrule/profiles.html#marshall.)
His actual title is rather obscure: director of the Pentagon's Office of Net
Assessment, a think tank under the direction of the undersecretary of
defense for policy. But Andrew W. Marshall is currently wielding a great
deal of power. That's because George W. has designated Marshall--a favorite
of Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld--to make a quick, but
politically important, strategic review of likely threats to the U.S., the
nature of future wars and how we can fight two simultaneously, and the
forces we need to do so. And to have it ready within a month or two.
Marshall has been a main proponent of the "Revolution in Military Affairs"
(RMA), a term he borrowed from a Soviet General Staff member and adapted to
describe the need to concentrate on information warfare and precision-guided
munitions. "Rather than closing with an opponent," he said in testimony
before the Senate Armed Services Committee in May, 2000, "the major mode
will be destroying him at a distance." But Air Force Magazine rebuked
Marshall in an editorial saying, "Tell this to the Bosnians." In other
words, while Marshall proposes to build his high-tech systems of long-range
power projection, real conflicts continue to fester on the ground unaffected
and unabated by them.
His enthusiasm for high-tech warfare has led him to raise the possibility of
canceling some existing programs--most often mentioned is the F-22 fighter
plane, at $182 million a copy. The "next-generation" systems he would put in
their place would, of course, be all but certain to cost even more.
Beginning in 1995, his office began sponsoring an RMA Operational Concept
Wargaming Program, which has explored space-based warfare and "multi-theater
global war." He is also a strong proponent of an expansive version of
National Missile Defense. Such plans have the effect of provoking others to
react; China cites these plans in its recent announcement to increase its
military spending by 17 percent, and to accelerate its missile program.
The question is to what extent Marshall's visions of futuristic wars and
weapons to fight them will be allowed to dominate U.S. military policy, as
well as becoming the self-fulfilling prophecies for the conflicts they
envision.
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, August 12, 2001 1:41 PM
Subject: [PEN-L:15821] Re: On a recent development in Turkey
>Thanks for the information, Sabri and Rob.
>
>The U.S. military has a policy of readiness for wars on 2 1/2 fronts
>simultaneously. So here we have Turkey and Argentina. Russia still limps
along
>thanks to higher oil prices. Brazil seems linked to Argentina.
>
>What order of magnitude lift can come from another half percent interest
rate and
>the tax cuts?
>--
>
>Michael Perelman
>Economics Department
>California State University
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Chico, CA 95929
>530-898-5321
>fax 530-898-5901
>
