Chapter 6

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 2013–2014 Update Tenth Edition

Chapter Six: Military Force and Terrorism

Joshua S. Goldstein Jon C. Pevehouse

Refugees flee new fighting near Goma, Democratic Congo, 2008

6.1 Conventional Forces Land Forces: Controlling Territory Naval Forces: Controlling the Seas Air Forces: Controlling the Skies Coordinating Forces: Logistics and Intelligence Evolving Technologies

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Land Forces and Naval Forces Control of territory is fundamental to state sovereignty and is accomplished primarily with ground forces. Small missiles and electronic warfare are increasingly important, especially for naval and air forces. The role of satellites is expanding in communications, navigation, and reconnaissance.

Air Forces Air war, using precision-guided bombs against battlefield targets, proved extremely effective in the U.S. campaigns in Iraq in 1991, Serbia in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, and Iraq in 2003.

WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS

Counterinsurgency warfare has become central to the missions of uniformed military forces worldwide. The U.S. military rewrote its counterinsurgency manual and changed its tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan to emphasize political and economic activities and positive relations with civilian populations. Here, in the capital of Somalia, a Ugandan soldier with the African Union force works on befriending local children after the AU ousted Islamist militants from the city, 2012.

PROJECTING POWER

Different types of military forces are adapted to different purposes. Aircraft carriers are used for power projection in distant regions, such as in the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns.

President of the United States, Barack Obama

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

The information revolution is making smaller weapons and smaller dispersed units more potent. A “revolution in military affairs” is driving changes in U.S. military strategy, including the expanding use of unmanned drones. This insect-sized drone shown in 2011 could collect real-time intelligence in complex urban environments.

6.1 Conventional Forces Q: In conventional forces, __________.

A) infantry, armor, and blacksmiths are part of armies B) marines move to battle in ships but fight on land C) the minority of soldiers are involved in logistics D) electronics, especially radar, are relied on most by artillery

Answer:

B) Marines move to battle in ships but fight on land

True-False:

The most fundamental and traditional purpose of conventional forces is to take, hold, or defend territory.

Answer:

True

6.2 Terrorism Political violence Purpose Primary effect is psychological Classic cases, 1970s-2001 Persistence is puzzling More willing than states are to violate the norms of the international system State-sponsored terrorism

ASYMMETRICAL CONFLICT

Terrorist attacks often reflect the weakness of the perpetrators and their lack of access to other means of leverage. Terror can sometimes amplify a small group’s power and affect outcomes. Al Qaeda’s September 11, 2001, attacks, staged by a relatively small nonstate actor, ultimately led to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia, drew the United States into a counterinsurgency war in Iraq, and brought al Qaeda itself a surge of recruits for new attacks worldwide.

6.2 Terrorism Q: Which of the following is characteristic of terrorism?

A) Acts of terrorism kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. B) The primary effect of terrorism is psychological. C) Terrorists are acting to gain leverage against nonstate actors. D) Terrorists acts are typically random acts with no clear goal in mind.

Answer:

B) The primary effect of terrorism is psychological.

True-False:

Those cases in which a nonstate actor utilizes violence against civilians by secret nonuniformed forces, operating across international borders, as leverage against state actors are considered classic cases of terrorism.

Answer:

True

6.3 Weapons of Mass Destruction Nuclear Weapons Ballistic Missiles and Other Delivery Systems Chemical and Biological weapons Proliferation Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control

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Nuclear Weapons Distinguished from conventional weapons by their enormous potential lethality Fission vs. Fusion

NUKE IN A BOX Nuclear weapons were invented during World War II and used on two Japanese cities in 1945. Tens of thousands have been built, and nine states now possess them. Obtaining fi ssionable materials is the main difficulty in making nuclear weapons. Terrorists’ efforts to obtain them pose a grave threat. Here, in 1999, a U.S. congressman displays a mock-up of the Sovietbuilt nuclear “suitcase bomb” that, in the wrong hands, could kill hundreds of thousands of people.

Ballistic Missiles & Other Delivery Systems

Strategic and tactical Ballistic missiles Cruise missiles

Chemical & Biological Weapons How they work Effects Delivery systems Efforts to control use

VULNERABLE

Civilians are more vulnerable to chemical weapons than soldiers are. A treaty aims to ban chemical weapons worldwide. Here, Israeli kindergarteners prepare against a chemical warfare threat from Iraqi Scud missiles during the Gulf War, 1991.

Proliferation Implications Forms of proliferation Efforts to inhibit or prohibit proliferation

SOMETHING TO HIDE

The most important hurdle in making nuclear weapons is access to fissionable materials (plutonium and uranium). Iran’s enrichment of uranium could give that country nuclear bombs within the decade. Fueling Western suspicions, Iran has not been forthcoming with international inspectors. Iran bulldozed this large site and removed its topsoil in 2004 before letting inspectors in. In 2006 and 2007, the UN Security Council applied mild sanctions against Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium

Nuclear Strategy & Arms Control First strike, second strike Mutually assured destruction Defense Arms control treaties

The U.S. and Russian presidents sign thick arms control treaty, 2010.

DEFENSIVE MOVE

The nuclear arms race between the superpowers during the Cold War led to strategies and arms control agreements that helped develop norms and expectations about nuclear weapons and missiles. India and Pakistan have followed a similar arms race, leading to mutual deterrence. Recently, defense against missiles has begun to enter the strategic calculus. Here, Israel’s new “Iron Dome” system shoots down short-range missiles from Gaza in 2012.

THE WAR IS OVER

U.S. and Russian nuclear forces were greatly reduced in the 1990s. Here, U.S. B-52 bombers are being chopped up, under the eye of Russian satellites, to bring force levels down.

6.3 Weapons of Mass Destruction Q: How do strategic weapons compare to tactical weapons? A) B) C)

D)

Strategic weapons are short-range weapons, whereas tactical weapons are long-range weapons. Strategic weapons are long-range weapons, whereas tactical weapons are short-range weapons. Strategic weapons are integrated into air, sea, and land forces using delivery systems such as artillery shells and land mines, whereas tactical weapons are carried mainly on missiles. Theft or accidents are a concern regarding strategic weapons, but not tactical weapons.

Answer:

B) Strategic weapons are long-range weapons, whereas tactical weapons are short-range weapons.

True-False:

Shock pulse is an effect of a nuclear explosion.

Answer:

False

6.4 States and Militaries Military Economics Control of Military Forces

Civil Military Relations

Military Economics and Control of Military Forces Arms imports and exports - imports by states in the global South make up more than half of all arms sales.

Chain of command - except in times of civil war, state leaders—whether civilian or military—control military forces through a single hierarchical chain of command.

TAKING OVER

Through a hierarchical chain of command, states control the actions of millions of individual soldiers, creating leverage in the hands of state leaders. But armed forces still sometimes defy civilian control. Here, soldiers in Mali stage a coup (2012) that unwittingly sparked an Islamist takeover of half the country and then a French military intervention.

Civil-Military Relations Military governments and coup d’etat Civilian control

Covert operations Private contractors

6.4 States and Militaries Q: CIA covert operations in the 1950s overthrew governments unfriendly to the United States in __________.

A) Cuba and Vietnam B) Iran and Guatemala C) Korea and South Africa D) Romania and Iraq

Answer:

B) Iran and Guatemala

True-False:

The choices about military capabilities that leaders have to make include how much to spend on military capabilities.

Answer:

True

Chapter Discussion Question Military forces include a wide variety of capabilities suited to different purposes. Why does conventional warfare require different kinds of forces than those needed to threaten the use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons? Further, why is control of territory so crucial to some, and why is it typically accomplished primarily with ground forces?