Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Biddle See also the 2007 interview with Biddle, "Strategy and the Iraq War"

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.

1. Background ... debating policy as a kid at home ... studying art history ... Harvard ... studying military strategy ... interdisciplinary topic ... emotional subject matter
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. Military Spending ... the lure of cheap technology ... manpower is expensive
6. 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
7. Privatization of the Military

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