America's "splendid" little wars : a short history of U.S. military engagements : 1975-1999 / Peter Huchthausen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Huchthausen, Peter A., 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intervention (International law).

History.

United States--History, Military--20th century.

United States.

History, Military.

Intervention (International law)--History--20th century.

Presidents--United States--History--20th century.

Presidents.

United States--Military policy.

Military policy.

Physical Description:

xv, 254 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Viking, 2003.

Summary:

Since the evacuation of Saigon in 1975, America has committed its forces to more than a dozen military operations. America's Splendid Little Wars shows how the United States -- now the world's sole remaining superpower -- has enforced the global "Pax Americana" by honing the military's capability to strike desired targets, and also by making sophisticated use of the media and public sentiment. From the 1975 operation to recover the hijacked merchant ship SS Mayaguez in the Gulf of Siam to the 1999 "relief intervention" in Kosovo, distinguished author and former U.S. naval captain Peter Huchthausen presents an intimate history of each military engagement through eyewitness accounts, thorough research, and his unique insider perspective as an intelligence expert. Huchthausen's fresh analysis of the Iran hostage rescue attempt, the invasions of Grenada and Panama, the Gulf War, and the missions in Somalia and Bosnia lucidly demonstrates the evolution of battlefield hardware, communications, and command and control technologies. He explores as well the impact on U.S. policy and popular perceptions, and the underlying motivations for these interventions, which were often peripheral to vital U.S. national interests. This unique and expertly told history reveals the struggles and successes that created America's new military.

Contents:

Part 1 Gerald R. Ford: Rebounding Against Piracy 1

Chapter 1. Recovering SS Mayaguez and the Fight on Koh Tang 3

Part 2 James E. Carter, Jr.: Choosing Military Action 19

Chapter 2. America and Special Warfare 21

Chapter 3. The Hostage Rescue Attempt 27

Part 3 Ronald W. Reagan: Lashing Out 43

Chapter 4. Intervention in Lebanon 45

Chapter 5. Intervention in Grenada 65

Chapter 6. Retaliatory Attacks on Libya 87

Chapter 7. Escort and Retaliation in the Persian Gulf 97

Part 4 George H. W. Bush: Using a Big Stick 111

Chapter 8. Storming Panama 113

Chapter 9. The Gulf War: Desert Shield 127

Chapter 10. The Gulf War: Desert Storm 142

Chapter 11. The Rescue of the Kurds in Northern Iraq 152

Part 5 Intervention in Somalia 159

Chapter 12. President Bush Responds to Starvation 161

Chapter 13. President Clinton Crosses the Mogadishu Line 170

Part 6 William J. Clinton: On the Edge of the Balkans 183

Chapter 14. Intervention in Bosnia 185

Chapter 15. Intervention in Kosovo 212.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [231]-239) and index.

ISBN:

0670032328

OCLC:

50754873