China's economic growth and military modernization over the past decade presents a foreign policy challenge to Southeast Asia. The balance of power in Asia, so long dominated by the U.S., is beginning a shift toward China. At the same time, China is growing more assertive toward its neighbors. This thesis seeks to explain how Singapore and Vietnam are reacting to this change. Using the existing literature and the historic example of Finland's policies in the last century, it presents alignment behavior as a negotiating process between states. These negotiations are both constrained and driven...

This book analyzes the performance of midshipman at the United States Naval Academy who attended preparatory school prior to admission. Multivariate models are developed to estimate the effect of a preparatory school background on several measures of midshipmen performance at the U.S. Naval Academy. The data set covers the USNA classes of 1990 through 2000. Control variables include both math and verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and the high school class-ranking percentile. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are employed to estimate the effect of prep school background...

This book will argue, however, that the strained relationship between the media and the U.S. military has nothing to do with censorship-for the simple reason that media-military relations have always been rocky, nevermore than in World War II. The difference between World War II and Vietnam was not the presence of censorship but the absence of victory. In other conflicts, victory has erased memories of a troubled relationship; after Vietnam, the media was caught up in the quest for a scapegoat. Furthermore, the nebulous goals of the War on Terrorism, the fact that it is likely to be a...

This book captures a history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) logistics fuel operation in Afghanistan and considers its lessons for the broader logistics community. The research focuses on a small group of individuals and how they came to supply over three million liters of fuel daily to Afghanistan with very little upfront investment from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) nations. The book describes how these individuals managed NATO fuel operations outside of traditional agencies like the NATO Support Agency (NSPA) and the worldwide U.S. Defense Logistics...

Lingering historical animosities between Japan and its Northeast Asian neighbors-China and South Korea-inhibit improvements in Japan's bilateral relationships with these countries and contribute to regional instability. One of the ways Japan antagonizes its neighbors is when the Japanese prime minister pays tribute to Japanese war dead through ceremonial worship at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo-an event that Chinese and Koreans criticize as honoring Japanese imperialism. When Japanese prime ministers visit Yasukuni, they elicit responses from Beijing and Seoul that are widely known. What is...

This book answers a simple question: Is there strategic utility in targeting high-value individuals via covert or clandestine actions? This work submits that there is strategic utility to high-value individual targeting (HVI or HVT) operations and offers a guide for national policy makers regarding when and how such operations should be conducted. Covert and clandestine actions must be conducted as part of a strategy and in support of clearly defined national goals. Foremost among the strategic considerations of covert action is the need to establish a desired endstate characterized by...

The present study treats Polish-American bilateral relations in the past and present, with special concern for contemporary themes of armaments. This book seizes upon the author's experience in the U.S. Embassy, Warsaw, as well as scholarly analysis. Together with NATO allies, the United States has begun the fielding of an anti-missile system directed against Iran. By dint of policy and geography, the Republic of Poland's status as one of closest allies to the United States put it at the forefront of the candidates to host the interceptor portion of the system. In addition to the U.S....

Leadership and communication are essential for winning wars. Email is a reality, and is good for some things; however, there is no substitute for F2F interaction when it comes to building relationships. Relationships are a reality in any organization, but they are more important in an organization like the Marines where lives are on the line. Senior leaders should establish mutually trusting relationships with junior leaders before deploying to a combat zone when it may be too late. Even in the best relationships, and under the influence of a great leader, conflict will occur. Some conflict...

This books proposes a mathematical paradigm for modeling the rise and fall of coalitions during intrastate conflicts. It proposes that misalignment of preferences within constituencies drives instability, which can lead to revolution. To arrive at preference for an issue, the model considers two components: ideology and fervor. It shows that ideology tends to remain static while fervor changes rapidly. With the preferences of a society mapped according to constituents' ideology and fervor, the model then considers how coalitions exercise control in their quests for dominance. The model builds...

The drug war in Latin America has received an increasing amount of funds and resources since it began nearly four decades ago. Recent efforts by the United States and Mexico to combat illegal narcotics traffickers have gained increased attention in the wake of September 2001 terrorist attacks. Similar efforts by the United States have been tried in the past, particularly in Colombia, with varied levels of success. This increased level of attention runs in counterpoint to the continued vitality of the drug trade, as markets expand and consumption remains steady. Violence resulting from drug...