The Iraq wars and America's military revolution
By: Keith L. Shimko
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New  York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 249
ISBN-13: 9780521128841; 9780521111515
Description: "Many saw the United States' decisive victory in Desert Storm (1991) as not only vindication of American defense policy since Vietnam but also confirmation of a revolution in military affairs (RMA). Just as information-age technologies were revolutionizing civilian life, the Gulf War appeared to reflect similarly profound changes in warfare. A debate has raged ever since about a contemporary RMA and its implications for American defense policy. Addressing these issues, The Iraq Wars and America's Military Revolution is a comprehensive study of the Iraq Wars in the context of the RMA debate. Focusing on the creation of a reconnaissance-strike complex and conceptions of parallel or nonlinear warfare, Keith L. Shimko finds a persuasive case for a contemporary RMA while recognizing its limitations as well as promise. The RMA's implications for American defense policy are more ambiguous because the military lessons of the Iraq Wars need be placed in the context of judgments about national interests and predictions of future strategic environments"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Military revolutions and the Iraq wars; 2. From Vietnam to Iraq - the rebirth of American military power and the origins of an RMA; 3. The first Iraq War, 1991 - a revolution dawns?; 4. The Iraq interregnum, 1991-2000; 5. Afghanistan and the second Iraq War, 2001-2003 - a revolution confirmed?; 6. The third Iraq War, 2003-? - a revolution denied?; Conclusion: the future of America's military revolution.