William Michael Schmidli
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451966
- eISBN:
- 9780801469626
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451966.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter details the 1976 Argentine coup d’état. When the commanders of the three branches of the Argentine service announced the inauguration of the “National Reorganization Process,” few ...
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This chapter details the 1976 Argentine coup d’état. When the commanders of the three branches of the Argentine service announced the inauguration of the “National Reorganization Process,” few Argentines expressed genuine surprise as it was an open secret that military preparations for a political takeover had advanced to the final stage, with meticulous orders distributed to units across Argentina. When the military assumed power on March 24, 1976, U.S. ambassador Robert C. Hill offered full and definite support. This support for the Argentine military takeover exemplified a defining feature of U.S. policy toward Latin America during the Cold War: quiet cultivation of strong ties with politically ambitious Latin America militaries to protect U.S. national security.Less
This chapter details the 1976 Argentine coup d’état. When the commanders of the three branches of the Argentine service announced the inauguration of the “National Reorganization Process,” few Argentines expressed genuine surprise as it was an open secret that military preparations for a political takeover had advanced to the final stage, with meticulous orders distributed to units across Argentina. When the military assumed power on March 24, 1976, U.S. ambassador Robert C. Hill offered full and definite support. This support for the Argentine military takeover exemplified a defining feature of U.S. policy toward Latin America during the Cold War: quiet cultivation of strong ties with politically ambitious Latin America militaries to protect U.S. national security.
Keren Yarhi-Milo
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159157
- eISBN:
- 9781400850419
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159157.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the indicators used by the Reagan administration to assess the intentions of the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1988. Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency in 1981 after an ...
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This chapter examines the indicators used by the Reagan administration to assess the intentions of the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1988. Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency in 1981 after an election campaign that expressed alarm over a “window of vulnerability” that endangered U.S. national security. Reagan's national security strategy featured schemes such as the Strategic Defense Initiative, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The chapter considers U.S. perceptions of Soviet military capabilities, military doctrine, and behavior during the period based on predictions derived from the selective attention thesis, capabilities thesis, strategic military doctrine thesis, and behavior thesis. It also explores how, when, and to what extent U.S. perceptions of Soviet intentions changed in order to elucidate the broader changes that eventually led to the end of the Cold War.Less
This chapter examines the indicators used by the Reagan administration to assess the intentions of the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1988. Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency in 1981 after an election campaign that expressed alarm over a “window of vulnerability” that endangered U.S. national security. Reagan's national security strategy featured schemes such as the Strategic Defense Initiative, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The chapter considers U.S. perceptions of Soviet military capabilities, military doctrine, and behavior during the period based on predictions derived from the selective attention thesis, capabilities thesis, strategic military doctrine thesis, and behavior thesis. It also explores how, when, and to what extent U.S. perceptions of Soviet intentions changed in order to elucidate the broader changes that eventually led to the end of the Cold War.
Frank L. III Smith
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452710
- eISBN:
- 9780801455162
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452710.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
Biological weapons have threatened U.S. national security since at least World War II. Historically, however, the U.S. military has neglected research, development, acquisition, and doctrine for ...
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Biological weapons have threatened U.S. national security since at least World War II. Historically, however, the U.S. military has neglected research, development, acquisition, and doctrine for biodefense. Following September 11 and the anthrax letters of 2001, the United States started spending billions of dollars per year on medical countermeasures and biological detection systems. But most of this funding now comes from the Department of Health and Human Services rather than the Department of Defense. Why has the U.S. military neglected biodefense and allowed civilian organizations to take the lead in defending the country against biological attacks? This book addresses this puzzling and largely untold story about science, technology, and national security. The book argues that organizational frames and stereotypes have caused both military neglect and the rise of civilian biodefense. In the armed services, influential ideas about kinetic warfare have undermined defense against biological warfare. The influence of these ideas on science and technology challenges the conventional wisdom that national security policy is driven by threats or bureaucratic interests. Given the ideas at work inside the U.S. military, the book explains how the lessons learned from biodefense can help solve other important problems that range from radiation weapons to cyber attacks.Less
Biological weapons have threatened U.S. national security since at least World War II. Historically, however, the U.S. military has neglected research, development, acquisition, and doctrine for biodefense. Following September 11 and the anthrax letters of 2001, the United States started spending billions of dollars per year on medical countermeasures and biological detection systems. But most of this funding now comes from the Department of Health and Human Services rather than the Department of Defense. Why has the U.S. military neglected biodefense and allowed civilian organizations to take the lead in defending the country against biological attacks? This book addresses this puzzling and largely untold story about science, technology, and national security. The book argues that organizational frames and stereotypes have caused both military neglect and the rise of civilian biodefense. In the armed services, influential ideas about kinetic warfare have undermined defense against biological warfare. The influence of these ideas on science and technology challenges the conventional wisdom that national security policy is driven by threats or bureaucratic interests. Given the ideas at work inside the U.S. military, the book explains how the lessons learned from biodefense can help solve other important problems that range from radiation weapons to cyber attacks.
Seth Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801445477
- eISBN:
- 9780801464041
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801445477.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the relationship between Laos and U.S. policy. The U.S. policy toward Laos under Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy shaped America’s approach to ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of the relationship between Laos and U.S. policy. The U.S. policy toward Laos under Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy shaped America’s approach to Southeast Asia during the cold war. Laos was the testing ground for counterinsurgency and nation-building programs that emerged in Vietnam, and many of the features that distinguished later programs—support of unpopular but pro-Western despots, matches between U.S. civilian and military bureaucracies, and ignorance of the needs and problems of the native populations—first became known in Laos. Indeed, Laos occupied more of Eisenhower’s and Kennedy’s time than Vietnam. The “Kingdom of a Million Elephants” was considered essential to America’s national security and a vital piece in the fight between communism and anticommunism.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the relationship between Laos and U.S. policy. The U.S. policy toward Laos under Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy shaped America’s approach to Southeast Asia during the cold war. Laos was the testing ground for counterinsurgency and nation-building programs that emerged in Vietnam, and many of the features that distinguished later programs—support of unpopular but pro-Western despots, matches between U.S. civilian and military bureaucracies, and ignorance of the needs and problems of the native populations—first became known in Laos. Indeed, Laos occupied more of Eisenhower’s and Kennedy’s time than Vietnam. The “Kingdom of a Million Elephants” was considered essential to America’s national security and a vital piece in the fight between communism and anticommunism.
Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231180788
- eISBN:
- 9780231543255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231180788.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
Legal, foreign policy, and operational harms call into question the narrative that the United States is better off as a result of inhumane detainee treatment. This chapter explores how the life cycle ...
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Legal, foreign policy, and operational harms call into question the narrative that the United States is better off as a result of inhumane detainee treatment. This chapter explores how the life cycle of norms applies to policy and whether a new normative consensus has been reached on the issue of detainee treatment. It concludes by offering several policy recommendations and future avenues of research for scholarship.Less
Legal, foreign policy, and operational harms call into question the narrative that the United States is better off as a result of inhumane detainee treatment. This chapter explores how the life cycle of norms applies to policy and whether a new normative consensus has been reached on the issue of detainee treatment. It concludes by offering several policy recommendations and future avenues of research for scholarship.
William Michael Schmidli
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451966
- eISBN:
- 9780801469626
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451966.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
During the first quarter-century of the Cold War, upholding human rights was rarely a priority in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Seeking to protect U.S. national security, American policymakers ...
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During the first quarter-century of the Cold War, upholding human rights was rarely a priority in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Seeking to protect U.S. national security, American policymakers quietly cultivated relations with politically ambitious Latin American militaries. By the mid-1970s, however, the blossoming human rights movement in the United States posed a serious threat to the maintenance of close U.S. ties to anticommunist, right-wing military regimes. The competition between cold warriors and human rights advocates culminated in a fierce struggle to define U.S. policy during the Jimmy Carter presidency. This book argues that Argentina emerged as the defining test case of Carter’s promise to bring human rights to the center of his administration’s foreign policy. Carter set out to dramatically shift U.S. policy from subtle support to public condemnation of human rights violation. But could the administration elicit human rights improvements in the face of a zealous military dictatorship, rising Cold War tension, and domestic political opposition? By grappling with the disparate actors engaged in the struggle over human rights, including civil rights activists, second-wave feminists, chicano/a activists, religious progressives, members of the New Right, conservative cold warriors, and business leaders, the book utilizes unique interviews with U.S. and Argentine actors as well as newly declassified archives to offer a telling analysis of the rise, efficacy, and limits of human rights in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War.Less
During the first quarter-century of the Cold War, upholding human rights was rarely a priority in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Seeking to protect U.S. national security, American policymakers quietly cultivated relations with politically ambitious Latin American militaries. By the mid-1970s, however, the blossoming human rights movement in the United States posed a serious threat to the maintenance of close U.S. ties to anticommunist, right-wing military regimes. The competition between cold warriors and human rights advocates culminated in a fierce struggle to define U.S. policy during the Jimmy Carter presidency. This book argues that Argentina emerged as the defining test case of Carter’s promise to bring human rights to the center of his administration’s foreign policy. Carter set out to dramatically shift U.S. policy from subtle support to public condemnation of human rights violation. But could the administration elicit human rights improvements in the face of a zealous military dictatorship, rising Cold War tension, and domestic political opposition? By grappling with the disparate actors engaged in the struggle over human rights, including civil rights activists, second-wave feminists, chicano/a activists, religious progressives, members of the New Right, conservative cold warriors, and business leaders, the book utilizes unique interviews with U.S. and Argentine actors as well as newly declassified archives to offer a telling analysis of the rise, efficacy, and limits of human rights in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War.
David R. Jardini
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262082853
- eISBN:
- 9780262275873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262082853.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The present chapter explores RAND’s development of analytical management techniques for military purposes and the diffusion of these methodologies from the military context into broader social ...
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The present chapter explores RAND’s development of analytical management techniques for military purposes and the diffusion of these methodologies from the military context into broader social welfare policy-making applications. It concentrates on three main issues, first providing a brief discussion of RAND’s history, focusing on the processes of intellectual production at RAND and the ways in which the creation of techniques there was shaped by a military context. Second, the chapter traces the dissemination of RAND’s systems methodologies from the corporation’s quasi-academic setting to the highest echelons of the U.S. national security structure. Finally, it examines where and how RAND’s methodological innovations diffused beyond the military establishment into programs of the “Great Society.” In general, the chapter traces the consequences of Cold War technical development for American democracy and argues that the widespread adoption of centralized, elitist policy making in the federal government may have contributed to the alienation many Americans feel toward the national government.Less
The present chapter explores RAND’s development of analytical management techniques for military purposes and the diffusion of these methodologies from the military context into broader social welfare policy-making applications. It concentrates on three main issues, first providing a brief discussion of RAND’s history, focusing on the processes of intellectual production at RAND and the ways in which the creation of techniques there was shaped by a military context. Second, the chapter traces the dissemination of RAND’s systems methodologies from the corporation’s quasi-academic setting to the highest echelons of the U.S. national security structure. Finally, it examines where and how RAND’s methodological innovations diffused beyond the military establishment into programs of the “Great Society.” In general, the chapter traces the consequences of Cold War technical development for American democracy and argues that the widespread adoption of centralized, elitist policy making in the federal government may have contributed to the alienation many Americans feel toward the national government.
Eugene Ford
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780300218565
- eISBN:
- 9780300231281
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300218565.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
How did the U.S. government make use of a “Buddhist policy” in Southeast Asia during the Cold War despite the American principle that the state should not meddle with religion? To answer this ...
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How did the U.S. government make use of a “Buddhist policy” in Southeast Asia during the Cold War despite the American principle that the state should not meddle with religion? To answer this question, this book's author delved deep into an unprecedented range of U.S. and Thai sources and conducted numerous oral history interviews with key informants. The author uncovers a riveting story filled with U.S. national security officials, diplomats, and scholars seeking to understand and build relationships within the Buddhist monasteries of Southeast Asia. This fascinating narrative provides a new look at how the Buddhist leaderships of Thailand and its neighbors became enmeshed in Cold War politics and in the U.S. government's clandestine efforts to use a predominant religion of Southeast Asia as an instrument of national stability to counter communist revolution.Less
How did the U.S. government make use of a “Buddhist policy” in Southeast Asia during the Cold War despite the American principle that the state should not meddle with religion? To answer this question, this book's author delved deep into an unprecedented range of U.S. and Thai sources and conducted numerous oral history interviews with key informants. The author uncovers a riveting story filled with U.S. national security officials, diplomats, and scholars seeking to understand and build relationships within the Buddhist monasteries of Southeast Asia. This fascinating narrative provides a new look at how the Buddhist leaderships of Thailand and its neighbors became enmeshed in Cold War politics and in the U.S. government's clandestine efforts to use a predominant religion of Southeast Asia as an instrument of national stability to counter communist revolution.
Stephen J. Schulhofer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195392128
- eISBN:
- 9780190259761
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195392128.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter examines the national security issues in the implementation of the requirements of the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. It discusses the complexities of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ...
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This chapter examines the national security issues in the implementation of the requirements of the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. It discusses the complexities of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) and the ways that the Patriot Act have provided the executive branch ever-greater latitude in the use of national security powers. It suggests that measures weaken the Fourth Amendment's central mechanisms, accountability and oversight, often undermine public safety and increase the exposure of the American citizens to attack.Less
This chapter examines the national security issues in the implementation of the requirements of the Fourth Amendment in the U.S. It discusses the complexities of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) and the ways that the Patriot Act have provided the executive branch ever-greater latitude in the use of national security powers. It suggests that measures weaken the Fourth Amendment's central mechanisms, accountability and oversight, often undermine public safety and increase the exposure of the American citizens to attack.
Yanek Mieczkowski
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451508
- eISBN:
- 9780801467936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451508.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter discusses Eisenhower's televised efforts to “calm” the American public after the Sputnik launch. He gave a series of nationally televised speeches on science and national security, ...
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This chapter discusses Eisenhower's televised efforts to “calm” the American public after the Sputnik launch. He gave a series of nationally televised speeches on science and national security, assuring the public that there was no crisis, that no rash action or legislative program was needed. General Andrew Goodpaster noted that this effort—dubbed as Operation Confidence—aims to restore the public confidence in the U.S. national security, and prevent “crash programs that would be unnecessary, that would be very wasteful and misdirected.” By setting the proper tone and invoking the right words, he hoped to banish the Sputnik issue from the news.Less
This chapter discusses Eisenhower's televised efforts to “calm” the American public after the Sputnik launch. He gave a series of nationally televised speeches on science and national security, assuring the public that there was no crisis, that no rash action or legislative program was needed. General Andrew Goodpaster noted that this effort—dubbed as Operation Confidence—aims to restore the public confidence in the U.S. national security, and prevent “crash programs that would be unnecessary, that would be very wasteful and misdirected.” By setting the proper tone and invoking the right words, he hoped to banish the Sputnik issue from the news.
Yanek Mieczkowski
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451508
- eISBN:
- 9780801467936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451508.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter discusses Eisenhower's response to the Gaither Committee's ominous report concerning the U.S. national security. The committee conducted a massive review of the country's defense ...
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This chapter discusses Eisenhower's response to the Gaither Committee's ominous report concerning the U.S. national security. The committee conducted a massive review of the country's defense posture, examining whether the United States could survive a nuclear first strike from the Soviet Union and retaliate. The results show that a Soviet first strike would destroy up to 50 percent of the American population. Eisenhower, thus, assigned the Gaither Committee to enhance America's offensive missile capabilities. Furthermore, the committee was tasked to create a network of fallout shelters—not merely bomb shelters to shield citizens from blasts—to protect Americans from radioactivity after a nuclear attack.Less
This chapter discusses Eisenhower's response to the Gaither Committee's ominous report concerning the U.S. national security. The committee conducted a massive review of the country's defense posture, examining whether the United States could survive a nuclear first strike from the Soviet Union and retaliate. The results show that a Soviet first strike would destroy up to 50 percent of the American population. Eisenhower, thus, assigned the Gaither Committee to enhance America's offensive missile capabilities. Furthermore, the committee was tasked to create a network of fallout shelters—not merely bomb shelters to shield citizens from blasts—to protect Americans from radioactivity after a nuclear attack.
Brian Lennon
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816665013
- eISBN:
- 9781452946344
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816665013.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter examines methods for translating different languages through a machine. There are issues with machine translation that can be illustrated through historic examples. Firstly, the need to ...
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This chapter examines methods for translating different languages through a machine. There are issues with machine translation that can be illustrated through historic examples. Firstly, the need to match and exceed the pace of Soviet’s scientific innovation and the insufficiency of workers that read and translated intercepted information. The chapter also discusses the failure of the U.S National Security Agency (NSA) to translate information from the Soviet Union’s radio satellite, Sputnik I, which indicates that machine translation (MT) of language can have drawbacks. Automated translation of captured enemy documentation, amassed in material form, needed to be read in a manner that most efficiently extracts its embodied content. The failure of high-tech input-output systems to accommodate Language is called “information pathology.”.Less
This chapter examines methods for translating different languages through a machine. There are issues with machine translation that can be illustrated through historic examples. Firstly, the need to match and exceed the pace of Soviet’s scientific innovation and the insufficiency of workers that read and translated intercepted information. The chapter also discusses the failure of the U.S National Security Agency (NSA) to translate information from the Soviet Union’s radio satellite, Sputnik I, which indicates that machine translation (MT) of language can have drawbacks. Automated translation of captured enemy documentation, amassed in material form, needed to be read in a manner that most efficiently extracts its embodied content. The failure of high-tech input-output systems to accommodate Language is called “information pathology.”.
