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.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Feaver, Peter.

Contributor:

Gelpi, Christopher, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil-military relations--United States.

Civil-military relations.

War and emergency powers--United States.

War and emergency powers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (267 p.)

Edition:

With a New afterword by the authors

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

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

Notes:

First paperback printing.

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

ISBN:

9786613310439

9781400841455

1400841453

9781283310437

1283310430

OCLC:

759398156