The RMA Debate
A gateway to full-text online resources about the Revolution in Military Affairs, information war, and asymmetrical warfare.
sponsored by
Project on Defense Alternatives
E-mail This Page |  Tag This Page (del.icio.us)

Second Thoughts on the RMA
Home


Full Text Resources
Terrorism and Counter-terrorism
Homeland Security

RMA Overview
History and Context
Information Warfare
Strategic Information Warfare and Defense
Asymmetric Warfare
Future Warfare
Network Centric Warfare

U.S. Transformation
Joint & Defense Wide
Service Visions
Air Power
Space Power
Army Transformation
Sea Power
Nuclear Issues
Intelligence Issues
New Technology
Urban Warfare, Counter-Insurgency, & Operations Other Than War
RMA & US Defense Strategy

Second Thoughts on the RMA
Allied Perspectives
RMA Outside the West
Arms Control, Ethics, and International Law


Online Books


Specialists


Research Sites


Bibliography



PDA Sponsored Sites

War Report

Online Resources about U.S. Defense Strategy, Force Planning, and Policy Reviews -- Project on Defense Alternatives

Online Resources about Chinese Military Policy & Capabilities -- Chinese Military Power Page

Defense Strategy Review Page


PDA Bulletin
8 to 12 editions a year
Enter your e-mail address:

(email address privacy assured)


French General Challenges Military Transformation
Pierre Tran. Defense News, 21 January 2008.

Whither the RMA?
Christopher M. Schnaubelt. Parameters, Autumn 2007 (.pdf file).

Net-Centric Lesson Plans in Flux
Greg Slabodkin. Defense Systems, 16 July 2007 (.pdf file).

The Death of the RMA
William S. Lind. Defense and the National Interest, 02 July 2007.

The 'Revolution in Military Affairs' Shocks but Does Not Awe Israeli Commission
Haninah Levine. Center for Defense Information, 11 June 2007.

Why America Lost the War in Iraq
Andrew Cockburn. CounterPunch.org, 19-20 May 2007.

The Army's New Land Warrior Gear: Why Soldiers Don't Like It
Noah Schachtman. Popular Mechanics, May 2007.

The Limitations of Standoff Firepower-Based Operations
Ron Tira. Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, 19 April 2007. Posted on the Policy Pointers website.

Defense Transformation Searches For New Identity
Josh Rogin. Federal Computer Week, 16 April 2007. (NOTE: Will open as a Word document).

The Next Step in Transformation
Terry Pudas. Defense Systems, February 2007 (.pdf file).

Challenging Transformation's Cliches
Antulio J. Echevarria II. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, December 2006 (.pdf file).

Defense Transformation: To What, For What?
Kevin Reynolds. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, November 2006 (.pdf file).

Lessons and Implications of the Israel-Hizballah War
David Makovsky and Jeffrey White. Policy Focus #60. Washington Institute for Near East Policy, October 2006 (.pdf file).

Office of Force Transformation Taking New Shape Inside DoD
Geoff Fein. Defense Daily, 05 September 2006. (NOTE: Will open as a Word document).

Is Defense Transformation Affordable? Cost Escalation in Major Weapons Programs
Anthony H. Cordesman and Paul S. Frederiksen. Center for Strategic and International Studies, 27 June 2006 (.pdf file). Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website.

Janus and the God of Jointness
Seth Cropsey. Armed Forces Journal, June 2006.

Effects-Based Operations: A Critique
Milan N. Vego. Joint Force Quarterly, April 2006 (.pdf file).

The Merge: Overpromising and Underestimating: A Response to 'Five Propositions Regarding Effects-Based Operations'
Lt. Col. J.P. Hunerwadel. Air and Space Power Journal, Spring 2006.

Five Propositions Regarding Effects-Based Operations
Col. Steven D. Carey and Col. Robyn S. Read. Air and Space Power Journal, Spring 2006.

The Counterrevolution in Military Affairs
Ralph Peters. The Weekly Standard, 06 February 2006.

Rumsfeld Surrenders: The QDR Dashes His Dreams of Military Transformation
Fred Kaplan. Slate.com, 03 February 2006.

Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Welfare: The Sovereignty of Context
Colin S. Gray. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, February 2006 (.pdf file).

In NATO, Technology Challenges Yield to Political Interoperability Hurdles
Robert K. Ackerman. Signal Magazine, 05 January 2006.

Martian Alert!
Col. Mark A. Brilakis. Proceedings, January 2006. Posted on the U.S. Naval Institute website.

Transformation for What?
John P. White. Strategic Studies Institute, Army War College, December 2005 (.pdf file).

Fading Transformation: Reject Any Effort to Close OFT
Christopher Lamb and Michael Casey. Defense News, 14 November 2005 (.pdf file).

The S&T Innovation Conundrum
Timothy Coffey, Jill Dahlburg and Eli Zimet. Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University, August 2005 (.pdf file).

Self-inflicted Vulnerabilities
Stephen D. Wolthusen. Naval War College Review, Summer/Autumn 2005. Posted on the Find Articles website (.pdf file).

Rumsfeld's Revolution at Defense
Paul C. Light. Policy Brief #142. Brookings Institution, July 2005 (.pdf file).

Speaking Truth to Rumsfeld
Michael E. O'Hanlon. Washington Post, 03 May 2005.

The Problem with 4th Generation Warfare
Antulio J. Echevarria II. Strategic Studies Institute, February 2005 (.pdf file).

Stepping Outside the Reality Box
Mark R. Lewis and John C.F. Tillson. Joint Force Quarterly, 11 January 2005.

Rethinking Doomsday
Linda Rothstein, Catherine Auer and Jonas Siegel. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November/December 2004.

Overreliance on Technology in Warfare: The Yom Kippur War as a Case Study
Robert S. Bolia. Parameters, 2004.

Military Transformation Falters in Mesopotamia
Loren B. Thompson. Lexington Institute, 16 April 2004.

Toward an American Way of War
Antulio J. Echevarria II. Strategic Studies Institute, March 2004 (.pdf file).

When the wheels fall off
Keith Andrew Bettinger. Asia Times, 13 Feb 2004.

Operation Allied Force (Kosovo 1999) and Other Airstrike Failures
Sam Damon Jr. Airborne Equipment Shop, 29 January 2004.

Understanding Transformation: Response to F. Kagan Critique
Tom Hone. Transformation Trends, 16 January 2004. DOD Office of Force Transformation.

An American Way of War or Way of Battle?
Compiled by LTC Antulio J. Echevarria II. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, January 2004. Posted on the USAF Air War College web site.

A Dangerous Transformation
Frederick W. Kagan. Opinion Journal, 12 November 2003.

Crack in the Foundation:  Defense Transformation and the Underlying Assumption of Dominant Knowledge in Future War
Lt. Col. HR McMaster. Center for Strategic Leadership, Student Issue Paper S03-03. US Army War College, November 2003. Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website (.pdf file).

The Art of War
Frederick W. Kagan. The New Criterion, November 2003.

Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare:  Implications for Army and Defense Policy
Stephen Biddle. Strategic Studies Institute, November 2002.

Surrendering the Initiative? C2 on the Digitized battlefield:  Surrenders Initiative?
Jim Dunivan. Military Review, September - October 2003 (.pdf file).

Moore's Law:  A Department of Defense Perspective
Gerald M. Borsuk and Timothy Coffey. Defense Horizons. Institute for National Security Studies, NDU, July 2003 (.pdf file).

Precision Firepower:  Smart Bombs, Dumb Strategy
Military Review, July - August 2003 (.pdf file). Posted on the Findarticles website.

A Woven Web of Guesses (Slide Presentation)
Lt. Col. Ralph E. Giffin and Darryn J. Reid. Command and Control Research Program, 17 June 2003. Posted on the Science Technology and Information Network website.

'If We Run Out of Batteries, This War is Screwed'
Joshua Davis. Wired Magazine, June 2003.

Perfect Information and Perverse Incentives:  Costs and Consequences of Transformation and Transparency
Michael Schrage. Security Studies Program, MIT, May 2003.

Rumsfeld's New Model Army
Conn Hallinan. Foreign Policy in Focus, 04 November 2003 (.pdf file).

Crack in the Foundation:  Defense Transformation and the Underlying Assumption of Dominant Knowledge in Future War
Lt. Col. Herbert R. McMaster. U.S. Army War College, 07 April 2003. Hosted by STINET database (.pdf file).

Limits of Transformation
Thomas G. Mahnken and James R. FitzSimonds. Naval War College, 2003. Posted on the Science Technology and Information Network website (.pdf file).

Doomed to Fail:  America's Blind Faith in Military Technology
John A. Gentry. Parameters, Winter 02/03. Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website.

Form, Function, and US Defense Transformation
Michael P. Noonan and Mark R. Lewis. Foreign Policy Research Institute, 8 November 2002.

Military Transformation: Ahead of the Curve, or Behind?
Loren B. Thompson. Issue Brief. Lexington Institute, 1 October 2002.

Transformation or Ideology? Bush Administration Needs Reality Check
Loren B. Thompson. Defense News, 23 September 2002. Posted on the Lexington Institute website.

War Games Rigged?
Sean D. Naylor. Navy Times, 16 August 2002.

U.S. National Security: Illusions versus Realities
Robert Higgs. The Independent Institute, 30 June 2002.

Defining Transformation?
Colin Robinson. Center for Defense Information, 25 June 2002.

Transformation Under Attack
Lt. Gen. Frederic J. Brown. Military Review, May/June 2002.

Skipping "Skipping A Generation"?
Andrew Krepinevich. The Backgrounder, 1 May 2002. Posted on the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments website.

Mountain Division: Why the US can't match the British at high altitudes
Jason Vest. The American Prospect, 21 March 2002.

Operation Allied Force: Why air strikes without decisive maneuver failed in Iraq and Kosovo
1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne), 15 March 2002.

Nothing Learned from Black Hawk Down
Mike Sparks. G2mil, March 2002.

Defense Transformation: The Tunnel at the End of the Light?
Philip Gold. Discovery Institute. Presentation to the World Affairs Council of Seattle, 20 Feb 2002.

A Test Case for Bush's Military Reform Pledge?
Thomas E. Ricks. Washington Post, 20 February 2002.

Will Special Ops Success 'Change the Face of War?'
Harold Kennedy. National Defense Magazine, February 2002.

Killed at Their Keyboards
David H. Freedman. Business 2.0 magazine, 31 January 2002.

US Military Transformation: Not Just More Spending, But Better Spending
Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker and Christopher Hellman. Military Reform Project, Center for Defense Information, 31 Jan 2002.

The Revolution in Military Affairs: Myth or Reality?
Bjørn Møller. Copenhagen Peace Research Institute, 2002. Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website (.pdf file).

Studs and Duds: In Afghanistan, the Navy has weapons that work. So why don't the Army and Air Force?
Eric Umansky. Washington Monthly, December 2001.

New War, Old Weapons
William D. Hartung. The Nation, 29 October 2001.

Shock-Based Operations: New Wine in an Old Jar
Lt. Col. John N.T. Shanahan. Aerospace Chronicles, 15 October 2001.

Time to Transform
James R. Blaker and Steven J. Nider. Blueprint Magazine, 16 January 2001. New Democrats Online.

A Path Toward Transformation: A Conversation with Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, USMC (Ret.)
Center for Defense Information, 10 January 2002.

New Military Strategy Falls Short
Steven J. Nider. Blueprint Magazine, 15 November 2001. New Democrats Online.

Betting Against Nature: Human Fallibility and Dangerous Technologies
Lloyd J. Dumas. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Wyndham Hotel, Washington DC, 9 November 2001. Posted on the FCNL website.

New War, Old Weapons
William D. Hartung. The Nation, 29 October 2001.

Key Review Offers Scant Guidance On Handling '4th Generation' Threats
Elaine M. Grossman. Inside the Pentagon, 4 October 2001. Posted on Defense and the National Interest website.

Preparing for Asymmetry: As Seen Through the Lens of Joint Vision 2020
Melissa Applegate. Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, September 2001.

The Fog and Friction of Technology
Jacob W. Kipp and Lt. Col Lester W. Grau. Military Review, September-October 2001.

The Myth of Air Power in the Persian Gulf War and the Future of Warfare
Daryl G. Press. International Security, Fall 2001.

Transforming the U.S. Armed Forces: Rhetoric or Reality?
Thomas G. Mahnken. Navy War College Review (Summer 2001). Posted on the Find Articles website.

Pentagon's Unreliable Bookkeeping Stands as Obstacle to Bush Reforms
David Wood. Newhouse News Service, 12 June 2001.

Rumsfeld's Reformation: The New Defense Secretary Faces Tough Choices
Loren B. Thompson. San Diego Union Tribune, 20 May 2001. Posted on the Lexington Institute Website.

What Revolution in Military Affairs?
Franklin Spinney. Defense Week, 23 April 2001. Posted on D-N-I.net.

A Note on Interests, Values, and the Use of Force
Jeffrey Record. Parameters (Spring 2001)

Thinking about Innovation
Williamson Murray. NWC Review (Spring 2001). Posted on the Find Articles website.

The Limits of Transformation
Loren B. Thompson. Washington Post, 12 March 2001. Posted on the Lexington Institute Website.

Darth Rumsfeld
Jason Vest. The American Prospect, 26 February 2001.

Top Ten Post-Cold War Myths
Thomas P.M. Barnett and Henry H. Gaffney Jr. Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute (February 2001). Posted on NewRuleSets Project Website.

Fabrizio's Choice: Organizational Change and the RMA Debate
Michael Evens. National Security Studies Quarterly (Winter 2001).

The Joint Force: A Decade, No Progress
Douglas A. MacGregor. Joint Force Quarterly, Winter 2000-2001.

Force Structure Will Change
Thomas P.M. Barnett and Henry H. Gaffney, Jr. Proceedings of the US Naval Institute (October 2000). Posted on NewRuleSets Project Website.

The Revolution in Human Affairs
Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA. October 2000. Posted on DNI Website.

The Revolution in Military Affairs Is Not Only about High-Tech Weapons
Nicholas Berry. Center for Defense Information Asia Forum. August 2000.

Swords into Stilettos: The Battle Between Hedgers and Transformers for the Soul of DoD
Col. Stephen Wolborsky. Cambridge MA: Weatherhead for International Affairs, July 2000.

Stop the Revolution; I Want to Get Off
Commander Bill Toti, U.S. Navy. Naval History (July 2000)

Are Cyberterrorists For Real?
Dan Verton. CNN.com, 3 July 2000.

Force-Protection Fetishism Sources, Consequences, and (?) Solutions
Jeffrey Record. Airpower Journal, Summer 2000.

Hart-Rudman Commission Report-A Critique
A. Krepinevich, M. Vickers, and S. Kosiak. CSBA Backgrounder. 19 April 2000.

Don't Techno for an Answer. The False Promise of Information Warfare
Brent Stuart Goodwin. Naval War College Review (Spring 2000). Posted on the Iwar.org website.

Kosovo and the Great Air Power Debate
Daniel L. Byman and Matthew C. Waxman. International Security (Spring 2000).

Kosovo and the Current Myth of Information Superiority
Timothy L. Thomas. Parameters (Spring 2000). Posted on Foreign Military Studies Office Web site.

Unintended Consequences
Mike Moore. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Jan/Feb 2000).

Infowar of Words
George Smith. Information Security (January 2000).

Electronic Pearl Harbor: A slogan for U.S. Info-warriors
Crypt Newsletter(January 2000)

The Risks of a Networked Military
Richard J. Harknett. Orbis(Winter 2000). Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website (.pdf file).

Technological Change & the Future of Warfare
Michael O'Hanlon. Washington DC: Brookings Institution, 2000.

Vmyths.com: Truth About Computer Virus Myths & Hoaxes
Internet site about computer virus myths, hoaxes, urban legends, hysteria and the implications if you believe in them.

Operation Allied Force and the Role of Air Power
Earl H. Tilford, Jr. Parameters (Winter 1999-2000).

Eligible Receiver: A Pentagon ghost story
Crypt Newsletter,October 1999.

Buck Rogers Rides Again
Ken Silverstein. The Nation, 25 October 1999.

Buck Rogers or Rock Throwers
Report from a conference sponsored by National Intelligence Council (NIC), Armed Forces Journal International, and the National Security Studies Program, Georgetown University, 14 October 1999. Posted on the NIC Website.

An Unlikely Threat
Jonathan B. Tucker and Amy Sands. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists(July/August 1999)

The Counterrevolution in Military Affairs
Major Thomas R. McCabe. Aerospace Power Chronicles, Contributor's Corner, July 1999.

Can We Afford a Revolution in Military Affairs?
Cindy Williams. Breakthroughs (Spring 1999).

Why No Transformation?
Andrew Krepinevich. National Interest (4 February 1999). Posted on Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Web site.

Revolution(s) in Military Affairs: Why the Critique?
James R. Blaker. National Security Studies Quarterly (Winter 1999).

The Seven Deadly Sins of Network-Centric Warfare
Thomas P.M. Barnett. Proceedings (1999).

Truth is the First Casualty of Cyberwar.
George Smith. Wall Street Journal, 8 September 1998. Posted on Crypt Newsletter Website.

The Diplomatic Consequences of the Coming RMA
Rachel Bronson and Daniel Goure. Foreign Service Journal (September 1998). Posted on Center for Strategic and Internationl Studies Web site.

Military Theory and Information Warfare
Ryan Henry and C. Edward Peartree. Parameters (Autumn 1998).

Beware the "RMA'nia"
Michael O'Hanlon. Paper presented at National Defense University, 9 September 1998. Posted on the Brookings Institution Web site.

You Call This a Revolution?
Christopher Gunther. Foreign Service Journal (September 1998).

Pursuing the Real Revolution in Military Affairs: Exploiting Knowledge-Based Warfare
Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Ripper and Lt. Col. F.G. Hoffman. National Security Studies Quarterly (Summer 1998).

The Technology Trap: Science and the Military
Tim Garden. Draft Update of 1989 Brassey's publication. Posted on author's website, July 1998.

A Critique of the National Defense Panel Report
Thomas P.M. Barnett. The CNA Corporation, April 1998.

Revolution or Dissolution?
Mark Helprin. Forbes ASAP, 23 February 1998. Forbes.com.

High-Tech: The Future Face of War? A Debate
Alvin H. Bernstein, Martin Libicki and Frederick Kagan. Commentary (January 1998).

Myth of the Silver Bullet: Contrasting Air Force-Army Perspectives on "Smart Weapons" after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the 1991 Gulf War
James Jay Carafono. National Security Studies Quarterly (Winter 1998).

The NDP's Three Exaggerated Threat Assessments
Thomas Barnett. The CNA Corporation, 1998.

A New Millennium and a Strategic Breathing Space
Russell E. Travers. Washington Quarterly (Spring 1997).

Information, Technology, and the Center of Gravity
Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey A. Harley. Naval War College Review (Winter 1997). Posted on the Science Technology and Information Network website.

Information Warfare: Time for Some Constructive Skepticism?
John Rothrock. From In Athena's Camp, eds., Arquilla and Ronfeldt. Santa Monica: Rand, 1997.

Information Warfare: Will Battle Ever Be Joined
Lawrence Freedman. International Centre for Security Analysis, 14 October 1996.

The Downside of the Cutting Edge
Richard Betts. National Interest (Fall 1996).

The Unintended Consequences of Information Age Technologies
Dr. David S. Alberts. Institute for National Strategic Studies, April 1996.

Information Warfare and the Air Force: Wave of the Future? Current Fad?
Glenn Buchan. Santa Monica: Rand, March 1996.

Infowar and Disinformation: From the Pentagon to the Net
Daniel Brandt. NameBase Newsline (October-December 1995)

Parallel War and Hyperwar
Col. Richard Szafranski. From Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues. Maxwell AFB, Ala.: Air University Press, September 1995.

Information Warfare: Isssues and Perspectives
John H. Miller. Institute for National Strategic Studies, March 1995.

Monitoring Emerging Military Technologies
Steven Aftergood. Journal of the Federation of American Scientists (January/ February 1995).

Some Cautionary Thoughts on Information Warfare
R.L. DiNardo and Daniel J. Hughes. Air Power Journal, 1995.

Reflections on the Revolution in Military Affairs
John J. Patrick. Paper prepared for the Naval Doctrine Command. October 1994.

Military Research and Development after the Second Gulf War
Charles Knight, Lutz Unterseher, and Carl Conetta. From Military Technological Innovation and Stability in a Changing World. Edited by Smit, Grin, and Veronkov. Amsterdam: VU University Press, 1992.

Another unheeded warning to not over-use Tofflerian mentalism!
Airborne Equipment Shop.

Why DoD Doesn't Understand War:  Firepower Versus Maneuver Paradox
Transformation Under Fire.

E-mail This Page

Please send us your comments, any corrections,
and your suggestions for additional resources.

Search

powered by FreeFind


Home | Online Books | Specialists | Research Sites | Bibliography
Project on Defense Alternatives

PDA Publications:
US Defense Policy | Regional Security
Iraq & Afghanistan | Military & Strategic Studies
Terrorism | Alternative Security & Defense

Home | Buy Publications | What's New | About PDA
Links | Search This Site | In the News | E-mail PDA

War Report | RMA Debate Page
Defense Strategy Review Page | Chinese Military Power Page
Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, Homeland Security | Occupation Distress

Become a PDA Sustainer

The Project on Defense Alternatives, The Commonwealth Institute
P.O.Box 398105, Inman Square Post Office
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Phone 617/547-4474, Fax 617/868-1267
Email: pda(at)comw.org

Site designed by IRN Internet Services
Copyright © The Commonwealth Institute. All Rights Reserved.