Soldiers, Statesmen, and Cold War Crises

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 post-war 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.