Recent Publications

The Implications of Preemptive and Preventive War Doctrines: A Reconsideration
July 1, 2007 — Author: Dr Colin S Gray Preemption and prevention are different concepts. To preempt is to attempt to strike first against an enemy who is in the process of preparing, or is actually launching, an attack against you. Preemption is not controversial. The decision for war has been taken out of your hands. Prevention, however, is a decision to wage... MORE

American Grand Strategy After 9/11: An Assessment
April 1, 2005 — Author: Dr Stephen D Biddle In the three years since 9-11, the Administration has yet to arrive at a clear definition of the enemy or the aim in the War on Terrorism; to date, American policy has combined ambitious public statements with ambiguity on critical particulars. Heretofore, the costs of pursuing such ambitious but ill-defined goals have... MORE

Fighting in the Gray Zone: A Strategy to Close the Preemption Gap
September 1, 2004 — Authors: CMDR Joanne M Fish, LTC Samuel F McCraw, COL Christopher J Reddish The 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) identified the proliferation, privatization, and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by terrorist groups and rogue states as the critical nontraditional threat of the 21st century. We argue preemption is ill-suited for... MORE

Maintaining Effective Deterrence
August 1, 2003 — Author: Dr Colin S Gray While deterrence is as old as human conflict itself, it became particularly important with the advent of nuclear weapons when armed conflict between the superpowers had the potential to end civilization. Today there is a sense that terrorism has rendered deterrence obsolete and forced the United States to substitute... MORE