In three months of savage fighting, the U.S. Seventh Army did what no army in the history of modern warfare had ever done before–conquer an enemy defending the Vosges Mountains.With the toughest terrain on the Western Front, the Vosges mountain range was seemingly an impregnable fortress, mannedby German troops determined to hold the last barrier between the Allies and the Rhine. Yet despite nearly constant rain, snow, ice, and mud, soldiers of the U.S. Seventh Army tore through th...

Comprehensive reference for military forces and other agencies. Covers peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, nation assistance, civil agency support.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFormer Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper reveals the shocking details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump administration.From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history—a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest ...

A hard-hitting investigation into how the Pentagon’s runaway spending embroils America in foreign wars, squanders its wealth, and enriches a privileged elite“A damning indictment of the conflicts of interest running rampant in the defense establishment.”―Publishers WeeklyAmerica spends nearly a trillion dollars a year on its military. This extraordinary spending not only detracts from our ability to address pressing social problems...

A stunning exploration of the subtle erosion of freedom in an age of concocted fear and de facto military authority.When we think of a military coup, the first image that comes to mind is a general, standing at a podium with a flag behind him, declaring the deposing of elected leaders and the institution of martial law.Think again. In American Coup, William Arkin reveals the desk-bound takeover of the highest reaches of government by a coterie of "gr...

Barack Obama has made it clear that he thinks the world would be a better and more peaceful place if the United States were too weak to affect the course of events. Obama, along with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, has slashed missile defense, dramatically reduced investment in future military technologies, and broken promises to our allies. In addition, Obama is transforming our military into a politically correct force that no one will want to join.In this incisive Broadside, ...

Bullock, Haddow, and Coppola have set the standard for homeland security textbooks, and they follow up their #1-selling third edition with this substantially improved version. Students will value the decades of experience that the authors bring to their analysis, and the new edition offers still more research-based data to balance the field-tested practical information included in each chapter. Additionally, links to the most current online government information help to keep the text up-t...

Since the first edition of Assignment: Pentagon was published in 1988, great changes have occurred in the international environment, the application of U.S. national security strategy, and the manner in which the Pentagon functions. Now in its fourth printing and with a coauthor to lend a different perspective, Assignment: Pentagon remains the best book for anyone who works for the Pentagon, or for any big bureaucracy for that matter.Eminently readable, Assignment...

Although the United States (US) has been involved in nation-building efforts for the past 100 years it does not have a doctrinal definition to articulate what nation building is. Another challenge for the US is the lack of a designated agency within the US Government (USG) to lead the effort. First, an interagency, agreed upon, doctrinal definition of nation building must be established. Following this, each department and agency within the USG must be examined to identify the role each pl...

The Cold War phrase “weapons of mass destruction” continues to be used despite significant changes in international political cultures, military concepts of operation, and technology advances. Today, the term “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD) is used to address many things, from grams of ricin and barrels of industrial chemicals to megaton nuclear weapons. As a direct result of the decision to refer to all nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons as well as biological, chemical an...

For four decades after World War II, U.S. Special Operations Forces-including Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Force special operations aircrews and Special Tactics Group-suffered from mistrust and inadequate funding from the military services. They were nearly eliminated from the active force following the Vietnam War. But in the past fifteen years, special operations forces have risen from the ashes of the failed 1980 rescue of American hostages in Iran to become one of the most freq...

This book provides an accessible overview of US defense politics for upper-level students. This new edition has been updated and revised, with new material on the Trump Administration and Space Force.Analyzing the ways in which the United States prepares for war, the authors demonstrate how political and organizational interests determine US defense policy and warn against over-emphasis on planning, centralization, and technocracy. Focusing on the process of defense policy-making r...