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Military Readiness: Concepts, Choices, Consequences Paperback – February 1, 1995

by Richard K. Betts Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of War and Peace Studies Columbia University (Author)

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Throughout most of American history, U.S. military forces proved unready for the wars that were thrust upon them and suffered costly reverses in early battles. During the Cold War, for the first time, U.S. defense policy tried to maintain high readiness in peacetime. But now, with the Cold War over and defense budgets falling, what will happen to U.S. military forces? Will they revert to a state of unpreparedness or find a new balance?

Politicians and military planners alike have found this crucial issue especially difficult to deal with because they have often misunderstood what readiness really means. In this book, security expert Richard Betts surveys problems in developing and measuring combat readiness before, during, and after the Cold War. He analyzes why attempts to maximize it often have counterproductive effects, and how confusions in technical concepts cause political controversy.

The book explores conflicts between two objectives that are both vital but work against each other because they compete for resources: operational readiness to fight immediately, and structural readinessthe number of organized units that increase military power, but require time during a crisis to gear up for combat. Betts also discusses the problem brought on by the Cold War and plunging defense budgets: mobilization readinessthe plans and arrangements needed to shorten the time for recreating a large military if it once again becomes necessary. Betts offers new ideas for understanding the dilemmas and tradeoffs that underlie debates on how readiness should be maintained in peacetime, and he explores the strategic consequences of different choices.

"

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About the Author

"Richard K. Betts is a professor of political science at Columbia University. He was a Senior Fellow and Research Associate at the Brookings Institution and has taught at Harvard and the Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced Interna"

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brookings Institution Press (February 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0815709056
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0815709053
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.07 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.03 x 0.77 x 8.68 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,500,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,782 in National & International Security (Books)
- #2,895 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #29,888 in Engineering (Books)

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wimiam

still a classic on military surprise and the US military-political complex

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2012

More of a musing on military surprise than an investigation into how some militaries are readier than others, but this book is full of useful cases and insights, such as German invasion of France in 1940 and US failures during the Cold War. Frankly, the details on the actual frequent lack of readiness during the Cold War is frightening, as is the exposure of the dysfunctional US political system that sometimes favors pork barrel and showiness, contrary to the sort of readiness that the military actually needs for the threats of the day. This last insight has been used well by several other authors in reference to 9/11 and I can see why now.

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