Conversations with History: Institute
of International Studies, UC Berkeley
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations
with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the
public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry
Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today
is Stephen D. Biddle, who is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign
Relations.
His most recent book is Military Power: Explaining Victory
and Defeat in Modern Battle, which was published by Princeton University
Press and won the Council on Foreign Relations' Arthur Ross silver medal
for 2005.
- Background ... debating policy as
a kid at home ... studying art history ... Harvard ... studying
military strategy ... interdisciplinary topic ...
emotional subject matter
- Understanding Military Power ... questioning the importance of technology
... Americans obsession with technology ... impact in budget battles ...
defining military power ... new views of World War histories ... tactical
learning in WWI
- The Modern Warfare System ... cover and concealment ... exploiting
variation in the terrain ... peril of overemphasizing technology ... Rumsfeld's
"revolution in military affairs" ... Kosovo and Afghanistan
- The Case of the Iraq War ... lessons learned in Afghanistan ...
well-trained enemy prevents US victory ... explaining early battle victories
in Iraq ... non-modern defense systems ... coercive governments cannot train
independence of thought
- Military Spending ... the lure of cheap technology ... manpower
is expensive
- Grand Strategy ... unarticulated by Bush administration ... containment
and rollback ... vis-à-vis terrorism ... prioritizing terrorism over the
rise of a new superpower ... the question of risk preference ... laying out
the choices
- Privatization of the Military

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