Posts tagged ‘war’
New Government Report: Afghanistan
Afghanistan: U.S. Efforts to Vet Non-U.S. Vendors Need Improvement
by William M. Solis
Paperback, 46 pages, 2011, $20.00
ISBN: 1437987125
The DoD, State, and the USAID have collectively obligated billions of dollars for contracts and assistance to support U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. There are concerns that U.S. funds are being diverted to fund insurgent and criminal activity in Afghanistan. This review was initiated to identify DoD, State, and USAID efforts to vet non-U.S. contractors and assistance recipients in Afghanistan. It examines: (1) the extent to which DoD, State and USAID have established a process to vet non-U.S. vendors to ensure that resources are not used to support insurgents; and (2) the extent to which vetting information is shared among DoD, State, and USAID. Charts and tables.
Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $20.00:
New Government Report: Iraq’s Debt Relief
Iraq’s Debt Relief: Procedure and Potential Implications for International Debt Relief
by Martin A. Weiss
Paperback, 17 pages, 2008, $15.00
ISBN: 143727246
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Following the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime in spring 2003, Iraq’s external debt was $130 billion. Reducing this debt to a sustainable level has been a priority of the U.S. government. Since 2003, debt relief negotiations have led to the cancellation of a significant amount of Iraq’s external debt. Contents of this report: (1) Iraq’s External Debt: Paris Club Debt Claims; Non-Paris Club Debt Claims; Commercial Debt Claims; (2) The Debt Relief Effort: Paris Club Debt Relief; Evian Approach; Iraq’s Paris Club Agree.; Non-Paris Club Debt Relief; Commercial Debt Relief; (3) Potential Policy Precedents for International Debt Relief: Granting a Stay on the Enforcement of Creditor Rights; Flexibility of Paris Club Agree.; Implementing an Odious Debt Strategy. Illustrations.
Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $15.00:
New Government Report: Joint Strike Fighter
Joint Strike Fighter: Restructuring Places Program on Firmer Footing, but Progress Still Lags
by Michael Sullivan
Paperback, 52 pages, 2011, $25.00
ISBN: 1437984274
The F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is the Dept. of Defense’s (DoD) most costly and ambitious aircraft acquisition, seeking to simultaneously develop and field three aircraft variants for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight international partners. The JSF is critical for recapitalizing tactical air forces and will require a long-term commitment to very large annual funding outlays. The current estimated investment is $382 billion to develop and procure 2,457 aircraft. This report discusses: (1) program cost and schedule changes and their implications on affordability; (2) progress made during 2010; (3) design and manufacturing maturity; and (4) test plans and progress. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $25.00:
New Government Report: Declarations of War (DoW) and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force
by Jennifer K. Elsea, Richard F. Grimmett
Paperback, 107 pages, 2011, $35.00
ISBN: 1437983545
From the Washington Admin. to the present, Congress and the Pres. have enacted 11 separate formal DoW against foreign nations in five different wars. This report provides historical background on the enactment of DoW and authorizations for the use of force and analyzes their legal effects under international and U.S. domestic law. It also sets forth their texts in two appendices. The report includes an extensive listing and summary of statutes that are triggered by a DoW, a declaration of national emergency, and/or the existence of a state of war. Also includes a summary of the congressional procedures applicable to the enactment of a DoW or authorization for the use of force and to measures under the War Powers Resolution. This is a print on demand report.
Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $35.00:
New Government Report: Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities
Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities
by Kendall D. Gott
Paperback, 132 pages, 2006, $25.00
ISBN: 9781437937862
There is an adage that tanks don’t perform well in cities. Gott disproves that notion with a series of five case studies from World War II to the war in Iraq.
These cases demonstrate that tanks must do more than merely “arrive” on the battlefield to be successful in urban combat. From Aachen in 1944 to Fallujah in 2004, the absolute need for specialized training and the use of combined arms at the lowest tactical levels are two salient lessons.
Gott provides an up-to-date analysis of the utility of tanks and heavy armored forces in urban combat. The U.S. Army will increasingly conduct combat operations in urban terrain, and it will therefore be necessary to understand what it takes to employ tanks to achieve success in that battlefield. Illustrations.
Book Special: The Three Roosevelts: Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America, Now 60 Percent Off
The Three Roosevelts:
Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America
by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn
Paperback, 678 pages, 2001, ISBN: 08711317801
List Price: $37,00, OUR PRICE: $15.00
In war and in peace, the 20th century was the Roosevelt century. From Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal and battles with the plutocrats of the Gilded Age, to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and wartime leadership, to Eleanor Roosevelt’s pivotal work on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and vital role in the Civil Rights movement, their crusades dramatically reshaped the political and moral landscape of our nation.
Read the 
of this book before you purchase it.
Illuminates the intertwining lives of these leaders who became America’s most powerful advocates for social and economic justice. Explores how Theodore’s example of dynamic leadership would inspire the careers of his distant cousin Franklin and his niece Eleanor. A gripping narrative of three of America’s greatest leaders. Photos.
“In this eloquent book, noted political scientist and biographer Burns demonstrates the masterly use of political psychology to understand both the power of leaders and the dynamic between leaders and followers,” writes Louisiana State University Prof. William D. Pederson in a review for Library Journal.
“Co-written with Dunn, this comparative case study of the Roosevelt political triumvirate applies Burns’s leadership theory to Theodore and Franklin; an extension of his theory is also applied to Eleanor, the unelected member of the trio who was a national and world leader nonetheless.
“Skillfully woven throughout is the influence Abraham Lincoln had on the trio — a thread that gives this work cohesiveness and additional depth. A significant psychological element shared by all three was that they were members of society’s upper crust who came to identify with those given society’s crumbs.”
New Government Report: American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics
American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics (ISBN: 1437925073)
by Anne Leland and Mari-Jana “M-J” Oboroceanu
Paperback, 27 pages, 2009, $20.00
This report is written in response to numerous requests for war casualty statistics and lists of war dead.
It provides tables, compiled by sources at the Department of Defense (DOD), indicating the number of casualties among American military personnel serving in principal wars and combat actions.
Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission, Lebanon Peacekeeping, Urgent Fury in Grenada, Just Cause in Panama, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Restore Hope in Somalia, Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
For the more recent conflicts, starting with the Korean War, more detailed information on types of casualties, and, when available, demographics have been included. This report also cites sources of published lists of military personnel killed in principal wars and combat actions. Tables.
New Government Report: Troop Levels in the Afghan and Iraq Wars, FY 2001-FY 2012: Cost and Other Potential Issues
Troop Levels in the Afghan and Iraq Wars, FY 2001-FY 2012: Cost and Other Potential Issues (ISBN: 1437919456)
By Amy Belasco (Paperback, 67 pages, 2009, $25.00)
In Feb. and March 2009, the Obama Administration announced its plans to increase troop levels in Afghanistan and decrease troop levels in Iraq. In Afghanistan, 30,000 more troops are deploying this year while in Iraq, troops will gradually decline to 35,000 to 50,000 by Aug. 31, 2011 with all troops to be out of Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.
The most commonly cited measure of troop strength is “Boots on the Ground” or the number of troops located in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Based on aveerage monthly Boots on the Ground figures, the number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq increased from 5,200 in FY2002 to a peak of 187,900 in FY2008 primarily because of increases in Iraq beginning with the invasion in March 2003.
In FY2009, total troop strength is expected to remain the same as planned increases in Afghanistan offset declines in Iraq. By FY2012, overall troop strength for the two wars is likely to decline to 67,500 when the withdrawal from Iraq is expected to be complete.
Contents of this Congressional Research Service (CRS) report: (I) Introduction: Obama Admin. Plans for Afghanistan and Iraq; (II) Wide Range in Deployed Troop Strengths in DOD Sources; (III) In-Country Troop Strength: FY2002-FY2012; (IV) Cost Implications of Changes in Troop Strength: FY2009-FY2012; (V) Ways to Measure Troop Levels for the Afghan and Iraq Wars; (VI) Trends in Troop Levels From FY2002-FY2008 Using Five Alternative Sources; (VII) Service Roles and Readiness Concerns. Figures and tables.
Memorial Day Book Special: Rakkasans: The Combat History of the 187th Airborne Infantry (ISBN: 0891416048)
Weekly Book Special: May 18th-May 24th
Memorial Day, on May 31st, commemorates American soldiers who died while in service. In commemoration, this week’s special is:
The Rakkasans:
The Combat History of the 187th Airborne Infantry
By E.M. Flanagan, Jr. (Hardcover, 392 pages, 1997, $25.00)
This is the complete account of one of the most remarkable regiments in the history of the U.S. Army, written by a retired lieutenant general who served with airborne outfits during World War II and the Korean War.
The 187th Infantry Regiment, known as “Rakkasans,” have fought in every major American military conflict from World War II to Afghanistan and Iraq.
They were chosen by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to be the first wave of troops to occupy Japan, were the only airborne unit in the Korean War, made history at the Vietnam War’s Hamburger Hill, and made a grueling helicopter assault during Operation Desert Storm. Includes 30 rarely-published photos.
Here’s a 60-second video of the Rakkasans preparing for deployment:
“The Rakkasans is important military history,” writes Kirkus Reviews. “It is well researched and articulated for both the student of military history and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in military history.”
Purchase this book for $28.00:
New Government Reports: Supreme Court Rulings on Enemy Combatants, Senate Filibusters, Threat of Bioterrorism, National Broadband Plan, All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV)
New government reports this week:
1) Judicial Activity Concerning Enemy Combatant Detainees: Major Court Rulings
by Jennifer K. Elsea and Michael John Garcia (Paperback, 18 pages, $15)
As part of the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the U.S. has captured and detained numerous persons believed to have been part of or associated with enemy forces. Over the years, federal courts have considered a multitude of petitions by or on behalf of suspected belligerents challenging aspects of U.S. detention policy.
Although the Supreme Court has issued definitive rulings concerning several legal issues raised in the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, many others remain unresolved, with some the subject of ongoing litigation. This report discusses major judicial opinions concerning suspected enemy belligerents detained in the conflict with Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The report addresses all Supreme Court decisions concerning enemy combatants. It also discusses notable circuit court opinions addressing issues of ongoing relevance to U.S. detention policy. The report also addresses a few notable decisions by federal district courts that are the subject of ongoing habeas litigation.
Finally, it describes a few federal court rulings in criminal cases involving persons who were either involved in the 9/11 attacks or were captured abroad by U.S. forces during operations against Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated entities.not convicted.
2) Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate
by Richard Beth, Valerie Heitshusen and Betsy Palmer (Paperback, 22 pages, $15)
Contents: (I) The Right to Debate: The Right to Recognition; The Right to Speak at Length and the Two-Speech Rule; The Motion to Table; (II) The Conduct of Filibusters: Germaneness of Debate; Yielding the Floor and Yielding for Questions; Quorums and Quorum Calls; Roll Call Voting; Scheduling Filibusters; (III) Invoking Cloture: Matters on Which Cloture May be Invoked: Timing of Cloture Motions; (IV) Effects of Invoking Cloture; (V) The Impact of Filibusters. Tables.
3) Federal Efforts to Address the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues for Congress
by Frank Gottron and Dana A. Shea (Paperback, 13 pages, $10)
The federal government’s efforts to address the perceived threat of bioterrorism span many different agencies and are organized and directed through several strategy and planning documents. These agencies have implemented numerous disparate actions and programs in their statutory areas to address the threat.
Despite these efforts, many experts, including congressional commissions, non-governmental organizations, and industry representatives, have highlighted weaknesses or flaws in the federal government’s biodefense activities.
4) Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan
by FCC Staff (Paperback, 360 pages, $45)
Broadband is the great infrastructure challenge of the early 21st century. The number of Americans who have broadband at home has grown from 8 million in 2000 to nearly 200 million last year.
But approximately 100 million Americans do not have broadband at home. Broadband-enabled health IT can improve care and lower costs by hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming decades, yet the U.S. is behind many advanced countries in the adoption of such technology.
In early 2009, Congress directed the Fed. Communications Comm. (FCC) to develop a National Broadband Plan to ensure that every American has “access to broadband capability.”
To fulfill Congress’s mandate, this plan seeks to ensure that the entire broadband ecosystem — networks, devices, content and applications— is healthy. It makes recommendations to the FCC, the Executive Branch, Congress and state and local governments. Figures.
5) All-Terrain Vehicles: How They Are Used, Crashes, and Sales of Adult-Sized Vehicles for Children’s Use
by Susan Fleming (Paperback, 68 pages, $20)
All-terrain vehicles (ATV), which are off-road motorized vehicles, have become increasingly popular. However, ATV fatalities and injuries have increased over the last decade and are a matter of concern to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission).
Many ATV crashes involving children occur when they are riding adult-sized ATVs. Manufacturers and distributors have agreed to use their best efforts to prevent their dealers from selling adult-sized ATVs for use by children under the age of 16.
This report examines (1) how ATVs are used and the advantages of their use and (2) the nature, extent, and costs of ATV crashes. The report reviewed ATV use and crash data and discussed these issues with Commission staff, industry officials, user groups, and safety stakeholders. Includes recommendations. Figures.
Diane Publishing's Blog 