1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910817779403321

Autore

Feaver Peter D. <1961->

Titolo

Choosing your battles : American civil-military relations and the use of force ; with a new afterword by the authors / / Peter D. Feaver and Christopher Gelpi

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, : Princeton University Press, 2004

ISBN

9786613310439

1-4008-4145-3

1-283-31043-0

Edizione

[With a New afterword by the authors]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (267 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

GelpiChristopher <1966->

Disciplina

322.50973

Soggetti

Civil-military relations - United States

War and emergency powers - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

First paperback printing.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-228) and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Preface -- Chapter One. Introduction -- Chapter Two. The Civil-Military Opinion Gap Over the Use of Force -- Chapter Three. The Impact of Elite Veterans on American Decisions to Use Force -- Chapter Four. Casualty Sensitivity and Civil-Military Relations -- Chapter Five. Exploring the Determinants of Casualty Sensitivity -- Chapter Six. Conclusion -- References -- Afterword -- Name Index -- Subject Index

Sommario/riassunto

America's debate over whether and how to invade Iraq clustered into civilian versus military camps. Top military officials appeared reluctant to use force, the most hawkish voices in government were civilians who had not served in uniform, and everyone was worried that the American public would not tolerate casualties in war. This book shows that this civilian-military argument--which has characterized earlier debates over Bosnia, Somalia, and Kosovo--is typical, not exceptional. Indeed, the underlying pattern has shaped U.S. foreign policy at least since 1816. The new afterword by Peter Feaver and Christopher Gelpi traces these themes through the first two years of the current Iraq war, showing how civil-military debates and concerns about sensitivity to casualties continue to shape American foreign policy in profound ways.