The Iraq Wars and America's Military Revolution

Many saw the United States' decisive victory in Desert Storm (1991) as not only vindication of American defense policy since Vietnam but also confirmation of a revolution in military affairs (RMA). Just as information-age technologies were revolutionizing civilian life, the Gulf War appeared to reflect similarly profound changes in warfare. A debate has raged ever since about a contemporary RMA and its implications for American defense policy. Addressing these issues, The Iraq Wars and America's Military Revolution is a comprehensive study of the Iraq Wars in the context of the RMA debate. Focusing on the creation of a reconnaissance-strike complex and conceptions of parallel or nonlinear warfare, Keith L. Shimko finds a persuasive case for a contemporary RMA while recognizing its limitations as well as promise. The RMA's implications for American defense policy are more ambiguous because the military lessons of the Iraq Wars need be placed in the context of judgments about national interests and predictions of future strategic environments.

Keith L. Shimko is associate professor of political science at Purdue University, where he has taught since 1989. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of international relation and security. Professor Shimko is the author of Images and Arms Control, which received the Quincy Wright Award in 1992, and three editions of International Relations: Perspectives and Controversies. He has also taught at the University of Hamburg, where he was a guest professor in the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in 2002-2003.