Soldiers, Statesman, and Cold War Crises - Paperback

by Richard Betts (Author)

Soldiers, Statesmen, and Cold War Crisis explores, in fascinating depth, the nature, direction, and impact of military and civilian influence on violence. Richard K. Betts discusses the postwar involvement of U.S. military and nonmilitary leaders in decisions on the use of force in foreign affairs, and the variety of advice from the different military services. Twenty intervention decisions and ten escalation desicions in crises are examined, including Korea, Berlin, Cuba, and Vietnam. To update this edition Betts has written a preface analyzing the significance of the issues in light of the evolution of events and information declassified since the book's original publication. He has also written an epilogue discussing several recent cases.

Author Biography

Richard K. Betts is director of the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of numerous books on military strategy and foreign policy. He has served on the National Commission on Terrorism, staffs of the Senate Intelligence Committee and National Security Council, and advisory panels for the Director of Central Intelligence.