Research for CIM

This report is the product of a CNA self-initiated project to explore the evolution of the notions of military deterrence and influence in the new era after the Cold War. Deterrence during the Cold War was global, focused on the Soviet Union and on nuclear balances and threats; however, a new perspective on deterrence is needed in this new era. The report concludes that the task of military deterrence and influence in the post-Cold War period is to contribute to a stable world system so that the economic world can function and prosper. The role of military forces is to foster the stability in which economies can thrive. U.S. military forces do this by organizing and extending both bilateral relations with key countries and sustaining and extending broad collective security arrangements, and by walling off the few rogues that aspire to mount aggressions against their neighbors.

During this century the United States has used naval mines both effectively and ineffectively. Naval mines first evolved as a weapon during the Revolutionary War. The United States employed them during both World Wars, most notably the North Sea Barrage in WWI and Operations Starvation in WWII. In such 'go-for-bust' global wars against peer unified rivals, naval mines significantly shaped events. The Cold war brought a different type of warfare. This report provides information about naval mines and U.S. mining operations in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, Nicaragua and the Persian Gulf War.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the theoretical framework and mathematical background necessary to understand and discuss the various ideas of nonlinear dynamics and complex system theory to plant seeds for a later, more detailed discussion (provided in Part II of this report) of how these ideas might apply to land warfare issues. This paper is also intended to be a general technical sourcebook of information. The main idea put forth in this paper is that significant new insights into the fundamental processes of land warfare can be obtained by viewing land warfare as a complex adaptive system. That is to say, by viewing a military 'conflict' as a nonlinear dynamical system composed of many interacting semi-autonomous and hierarchically organized agents continuously adapting to a changing environment. See also CRM 96-68.

This information memorandum provides a chronology of U. S. Marine Corps (USMC) humanitarian assistance and peace operations (HA/POs). The chronology documents 154 cases of Marine Corps HA/POs from 1811 through 1993. The information memorandum is part of a CNA study on the Marines in humanitarian assistance operations. The study is examining the Marine requirements in the areas of doctrine, organization, training, and equipment to prepare for and conduct HA/POs. These requirements are being identified through a variety of methods including (1) examining past HA/POs; (2) running humanitarian assistance seminar games; and (3) through examination of how other services and other nations approach HA/POs. The material in this information memorandum supports the study effort in several ways. First, the chronology presents a list of operations from which to choose the choice of case studies. Second, the analysis and chronology support the choice of case studies and scenarios by ensuring that the selected case studies and scenarios are representative of past operations and trends in the history of USMC HA/POs. Third, this chronology and analysis should provide one window for understanding what is--and is not--new for the USMC in conducting HA/POs.