PDF U.S. Security Interests and Policies in Southwest Asia Download
- Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations
- Publisher:
- ISBN:
- Category : Government publications
- Languages : en
- Pages : 392
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Asia in the 1980s will be extremely important for the U.S. The factors which make it a locale of intensified U.S.-Soviet rivalry include the extension of Soviet naval power to the Western Pacific, the potential of a U.S.-China security cooperation on the theme of "antihegemony," the growing Soviet interests in Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf area and instability in Indochina.
Over-reliance upon military action as the predominant instrument of US foreign policy in Southwest Asia is the danger against which this essay; warns. Colonel Robert G. Lawrence, is less troubled by questions of US military strength than by policymakers' insensitivity to the historical, religious, and regional dynamics of Southwest Asia in general and the Persian Gulf states in particular. Security assistance, although important, has been mistakenly considered the essential element of US policy when it should complement, not constitute US diplomacy. Too long, we have failed to understand the Arab view of the world in which they live. Our policymakers have slighted the complexity and the diversity of Arab religions, politics, and history-forces which inform and direct Arab actions. Colonel Lawrence directly addresses the tough questions, such as US support of Israel, widely inconsistent policies for foreign military sales, US failure in Iran, and US inaction during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Interviewing over fifty prominent Arab government officials, military leaders, diplomats, scholars, and businessmen, Colonel Lawrence brings immediacy and insight to this frank, somewhat controversial study of Southwest Asia.
The author believes that because deep-rooted distrust is endemic among neighboring Asian states, the creation of a realistic balance of power is essential for regional American security interests. He suggests an "ideal" U.S. policy in which Japan would assume a greater share of the Asian defense burden and the U.S. would strive for a lessening of Indian-Pakistani hostilities. The U.S. would counter the threat of a nuclear-armed China by strengthening its ties with the independent nations of Asia. The author stresses that the defense of Taiwan and America's direct aid to South Vietnam are critical as symbols of U.S. determination to contain China geopolitically.
The "war on terrorism" has had dramatic impacts on US-Arab relations. Some of these are positive; many are negative, at least in the short term. The US has broken down doors to enter where it has not been invited. Washington seeks and in some cases demands levels of security cooperation that transcend traditional state-to-state relationships. Are these engagements bold and courageous or foolhardy and imperial as defined by critics both in America and abroad? The initial phase of the war on terrorism has passed. Battle lines are clearer. America has had some early success, but progress in the battle for minds is less certain. Many Arab countries, locked in this same battle, also have cause for introspection. The war on terrorism has certainly compelled the Arab world to look inwards more critically and to examine some difficult issues. All parties involved in the war on terrorism should look inward and weigh the extent to which their actions are helping or hurting each other.
This report illustrates the application of a framework that could lend greater coherence to U.S. security planning. It attempts to provide policymakers with Air Force could make in protecting U.S. and Western interests in Southwest Asia. This study is concerned with the possibility of a Soviet invasion of Iran aimed at securing control over the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. 2. Discusses American national objectives in Southwest Asia and the broad national strategy the U.S. government has formulated to achieve these objectives. Next, it examines the nature of the Soviet threat and provides some background on strategic considerations that influenced the development of U.S. military strategy. The next sections discuss U.S. military strategy for possible contingenies, the forces being considered for operations in this theater, and the programs initiated to support this strategy. The lost suctions try to identify what specific military capabilities the USAF should enhance or develop to better support U.S. strategies and national objectives and lay out a concept of operations for one of these capabilities--strategic mobility for tactical aircraft.