Deterrence and First-strike Stability in Space

Deterrence and First-strike Stability in Space

Author: Forrest E. Morgan

Publisher: RAND Corporation

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780833049131

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Space stability appears to be eroding as a growing number of states acquire the ability to degrade or destroy U.S. space assets. The United States needs a coordinated national space deterrence strategy designed to operate on both sides of a potential adversary's cost-benefit decision calculus. Future research will determine the most effective and affordable mix of strategies, policies, and systems for strengthening space deterrence.


First-strike Stability

First-strike Stability

Author: Glenn A. Kent

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13:

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This report presents a logical and transparent methodology for evaluating strategic offensive forces on the basis of first-strike stability, which the authors define as a condition that exists when neither superpower perceives the other as motivated by the strategic force posture to launch the first nuclear strike in a crisis. The methodology underlines that (1) first-strike stability under current conditions is relatively robust, (2) postures of U.S. and Soviet strategic nuclear forces become increasingly important under an arms reduction regime if the current level of first-strike stability is desired, (3) enlarging U.S. and Soviet strategic nuclear weapons inventories does not necessarily erode first-strike stability, (4) the superpowers should realize the importance of both sides generating forces early in a crisis to render these forces nontargetable, and (5) whatever the index of first-strike stability, the index applies equally to both the United States and the Soviet Union, and thus suggests a dimension of U.S.-Soviet cooperation.


Thinking about America's Defense

Thinking about America's Defense

Author: Glenn A. Kent

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 0833044524

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"Lieutenant General Glenn A. Kent was a uniquely acute analyst and developer of American defense policy in the second half of the twentieth century. His 33-year career in the Air Force was followed by more than 20 years as one of the leading analysts at RAND. This volume is not a memoir in the normal sense but rather a summary of the dozens of national security issues in which Glenn was personally engaged over the course of his career. These issues included creating the single integrated operational plan (SIOP), leading DoD's official assessment of strategic defenses in the 1960s, developing and analyzing strategic nuclear arms control agreements, helping to bring new weapon systems to life, and many others. Each vignette describes the analytical frameworks and, where appropriate, the mathematical formulas and charts that Glenn developed and applied to gain insights into the issue at hand. The author also relates his roles in much of the bureaucratic pulling and hauling that occurred as issues were addressed within the government." -- publisher's website.


Statecraft and Power

Statecraft and Power

Author: Christopher C. Harmon

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 9780819187185

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These essays on strategy, war, and statecraft have been written during the current reassessment of United States' national strategy. But they also take strategic thinking back to certain principals and interests which have guided America before, during, and after the Cold War. Co-published with The Institute for Public Policy.