Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy

Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy PDF Author: Paul R. Pillar
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231527802
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
A career of nearly three decades with the CIA and the National Intelligence Council showed Paul R. Pillar that intelligence reforms, especially measures enacted since 9/11, can be deeply misguided. They often miss the sources that underwrite failed policy and misperceive our ability to read outside influences. They also misconceive the intelligence-policy relationship and promote changes that weaken intelligence-gathering operations. In this book, Pillar confronts the intelligence myths Americans have come to rely on to explain national tragedies, including the belief that intelligence drives major national security decisions and can be fixed to avoid future failures. Pillar believes these assumptions waste critical resources and create harmful policies, diverting attention away from smarter reform, and they keep Americans from recognizing the limits of obtainable knowledge. Pillar revisits U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and highlights the small role intelligence played in those decisions, and he demonstrates the negligible effect that America's most notorious intelligence failures had on U.S. policy and interests. He then reviews in detail the events of 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, condemning the 9/11 commission and the George W. Bush administration for their portrayals of the role of intelligence. Pillar offers an original approach to better informing U.S. policy, which involves insulating intelligence management from politicization and reducing the politically appointed layer in the executive branch to combat slanted perceptions of foreign threats. Pillar concludes with principles for adapting foreign policy to inevitable uncertainties.

Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy

Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy PDF Author: Paul R. Pillar
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231527802
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

Get Book Here

Book Description
A career of nearly three decades with the CIA and the National Intelligence Council showed Paul R. Pillar that intelligence reforms, especially measures enacted since 9/11, can be deeply misguided. They often miss the sources that underwrite failed policy and misperceive our ability to read outside influences. They also misconceive the intelligence-policy relationship and promote changes that weaken intelligence-gathering operations. In this book, Pillar confronts the intelligence myths Americans have come to rely on to explain national tragedies, including the belief that intelligence drives major national security decisions and can be fixed to avoid future failures. Pillar believes these assumptions waste critical resources and create harmful policies, diverting attention away from smarter reform, and they keep Americans from recognizing the limits of obtainable knowledge. Pillar revisits U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and highlights the small role intelligence played in those decisions, and he demonstrates the negligible effect that America's most notorious intelligence failures had on U.S. policy and interests. He then reviews in detail the events of 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, condemning the 9/11 commission and the George W. Bush administration for their portrayals of the role of intelligence. Pillar offers an original approach to better informing U.S. policy, which involves insulating intelligence management from politicization and reducing the politically appointed layer in the executive branch to combat slanted perceptions of foreign threats. Pillar concludes with principles for adapting foreign policy to inevitable uncertainties.

Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War

Sold Out? US Foreign Policy, Iraq, the Kurds, and the Cold War PDF Author: Bryan R. Gibson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137517158
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
This book analyzes the ways in which US policy toward Iraq was dictated by America's broader Cold War strategy between 1958 and 1975. While most historians have focused on “hot” Cold War conflicts such as Cuba, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, few have recognized Iraq's significance as a Cold War battleground. This book argues that US decisions and actions were designed to deny the Soviet Union influence over Iraq and to create a strategic base in the oil-rich Gulf region. Using newly available primary sources and interviews, this book reveals new details on America's decision-making toward and actions against Iraq during the height of the Cold War and shows where Iraq fits into the broader historiography of the Cold War in the Middle East. Further, it raises important questions about widely held misconceptions of US-Iraqi relations, such as the CIA's alleged involvement in the 1963 Ba'thist coup and the theory that the US sold out the Kurds in 1975.

Iraq

Iraq PDF Author: Christopher M. Blanchard
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437929095
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Book Description
Provides information about the current perspectives and policies of Iraq¿s neighbors; analyzes potential regional responses to renewed violence and longer-term stabilization efforts; discusses shared concerns and U.S. long-term regional interests; and reviews U.S. policy options for responding to various contingencies. Contents: (1) Common Questions, Unique Concerns: The Regional Strategic Balance and Political Stability; Sectarian and Ethnic Politics and Violence; Transnational and Nationalist Terrorism; Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons; (2) Iraq¿s Future; (3) Iraq¿s Neighbors: Iran; Turkey; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Jordan; Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council States; (4) Issues for Congress. Charts and tables.

Confronting Iraq

Confronting Iraq PDF Author: Daniel Byman
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 9780833032539
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Although Iraq remains hostile to the United States, Baghdad has repeatedly compromised, and at times caved, in response to U.S. pressure and threats. An analysis of attempts to coerce Iraq since Desert Storm reveals that military strikes and other forms of pressure that threatened Saddam Husayn's relationship with his power base proved effective at forcing concessions from the Iraqi regime. When coercing Saddam or other foes, U.S. policymakers should design a strategy around the adversary's center of gravity while seeking to neutralize adversary efforts to counter-coerce the United States and appreciating the policy constraints imposed by domestic politics and international alliances.

Iraq in the Twenty-First Century

Iraq in the Twenty-First Century PDF Author: Tareq Y. Ismael
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317567587
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Much has been written about the events surrounding the 2003 Anglo-American invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, especially about the intentions, principles, plans and course of action of US policy, but much less attention has been given to the consequences of US policy on Iraqi political and social development. This book provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of US policy on the social and political development of Iraq in the twenty-first century. It shows how not just the institutions of the state were destroyed in 2003, leaving the way open for sectarianism, but also the country’s cultural integrity, political coherence, and national-oriented economy. It outlines how Iraq has been economically impoverished, assessing the appalling situation which ordinary people, including women and children, have endured, not just as a result of the 2003 war, but also as a consequence of the 1991 war and the sanctions imposed in the following years. The book argues that the social, political, and cultural ruin that accompanied the Iraq war was an absolute catastrophe; that the policies which had such adverse effects were the foreseeable consequences of deliberate policy choices; and that those responsible continue to evade being made accountable.

U.S. Policy Options for Iraq: A Reassessment

U.S. Policy Options for Iraq: A Reassessment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Iraq is the most pressing foreign and security policy issue that the United States faces today. Continued failure to make Iraq stable and secure threatens to disrupt the Middle East not by catalyzing the spread of democracy but by exporting instability and conflict. If violence continues, Iraq's neighbors will use the country as a theater in which to pursue their own goals, including those at odds with Iraqi and U.S. interests. Iraq will remain a training ground for terrorist groups, threatening U.S. and allied security. Continued conflict in Iraq not only will remain extraordinarily costly in terms of U.S. lives and resources, but will also damage the credibility of the United States and the efficacy of U.S. forces. It also feeds perceptions around the world that the United States is engaged in a "war on Islam." The U.S. government needs to consider alternative strategies and approaches for reducing the violence in Iraq. Even if policy makers choose not to make major changes, adjustments to current policies might help improve the effectiveness of the U.S. effort. In light of the continuing violence in Iraq, U.S. policy makers continue to reexamine policy options and their repercussions. This monograph assesses a number of approaches that the U.S. government can consider in its efforts to reduce sectarian violence and stabilize Iraq, and presents recommendations that may help increase the likelihood of success. It also considers possible next steps to take, whether these efforts succeed or fail. The analysis in this monograph is based on more than a year of research, which included travel to the region and extensive interviews with U.S., Iraqi, and other specialists, analysts, and officials, as one component of the project "The U.S. Air Force Role in the Middle East." It involved a multidisciplinary team of researchers who brought their expertise in political, economic, and military strategic analysis to these important questions.

Strategic Preemption

Strategic Preemption PDF Author: Robert J. Pauly
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351897616
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
Placing the second US-Iraq conflict in the context of emerging trends in international relations, this exceptional, timely volume examines the broad framework of US policy toward Iraq under the administration of George W. Bush. The Second Iraq War marks the third time since 1991 that the United States has invaded a Muslim country, and this book details not only the specifics of the conflict, but the war's broad impact on US relations with Muslim states, both in a regional and global context. It analyzes the development of the previous US policy of containment to the new doctrine of preemption. The volume also: ¢ Examines the linkages between Al Qaeda's attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001 and the prosecution of the Second Iraq War. ¢

America and Iraq

America and Iraq PDF Author: David Ryan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113403671X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
This edited volume provides an overview on US involvement in Iraq from the 1958 Iraqi coup to the present-day, offering a deeper context to the current conflict. Using a range of innovative methods to interrogate US foreign policy, ideology and culture, the book provides a broad set of reflections on past, present and future implications of US-Iraqi relations, and especially the strategic implications for US policy-making. In doing so, it examines several key aspects of relationship such as: the 1958 Iraqi Revolution; the impact of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; the impact of the Nixon Doctrine on the regional balance of power; US attempts at rapprochement during the 1980s; the 1990-91 Gulf War; and, finally, sanctions and inspections. Analysis of the contemporary Iraq crisis sets US plans against the ‘reality’ they faced in the country, and explores both attempts to bring security to Iraq, and the implications of failure.

Strategies for Reshaping U.S. Policy in Iraq and the Middle East

Strategies for Reshaping U.S. Policy in Iraq and the Middle East PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description


U.S. Policy Options for Iraq

U.S. Policy Options for Iraq PDF Author: Olga Oliker
Publisher: RAND Corporation
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
Iraq is the most pressing national security issue facing the United States today. This book evaluates the costs and benefits of five alternative strategies the United States could pursue in Iraq. The authors argue that, as long as the United States remains in Iraq, policy actions must focus on improving the security of Iraq's population by reducing violence. They offer recommendations for ways in which U.S. political, security, and economic policies in Iraq could be better geared to support this goal, though they emphasize the challenges inherent in this endeavor. Specific recommendations focus on embedding and vetting efforts for both forces and government structures and on targeting economic assistance more effectively. The authors also suggest policies that might be implemented if violence subsides-but that should not be undertaken unless and until it does. The book concludes with a discussion of next steps if the United States decides to withdraw from Iraq, arguing that the United States needs to prepare now to mitigate the effects of failure.