Through its publications INSS provides cutting-edge research, analyses, and innovative solutions on critical national security issues in support of the joint warfighter and Department of War stakeholders.
March 15, 2016
Violating Reality: The Lavelle Affair, Nixon, and the Parsing of the Truth
On December 20, 2010, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) denied the Pentagon’s request, endorsed by President Barack Obama, to advance posthumously Air Force Maj Gen John D. Lavelle to the retired list in the rank of general.1 Thirty-eight years earlier, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen John D. Ryan had fired the four-star Lavelle as the Seventh Air Force commander in Saigon for allegedly conducting unauthorized airstrikes against North Vietnam and ordering the falsification of mission reports. Senate hearings in September 1972 deemed Lavelle guilty of both offenses, resulting in his demotion to major general following retirement. Yet a careful reading of documentary and taped evidence, much of it recently discovered and not available at the time of the original Senate hearings, reveals that General Lavelle neither violated the rules of engagement (ROE) that prescribed America’s air war at the time of his dismissal nor falsified mission reports. Accordingly, Lavelle should have his rank restored, and the so-called Lavelle affair should serve as a cautionary tale for political and military leaders alike who question the proper conduct of “civil-military relations” in the complex and often confounding era of modern limited war.
March 10, 2016
Making Russia Think Twice About Nuclear Threats
On September 11, 2013, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, writing in The New York Times, issued “A
March 9, 2016
Countering Russia’s Strategy for Regional Coercion and War
Much of the discussion since the 2014 Ukraine crisis began has focused on how Russia could exploit a
Feb. 2, 2016
North Korea 2025: Alternate Futures and Policy Challenges
National Defense University (NDU), the National Intelligence Council (NIC), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) held a symposium in November 2015 that brought leading experts together to explore four alternative futures for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea). The futures were: 1) A Status Quo Peninsula in a Changing Northeast Asia; 2) Korea Reunified; 3) A Reforming DPRK; and 4) The DPRK Must Be Stopped! This report summarizes key findings from this non-attribution symposium, which focused on the interests and potential actions of external powers rather than DPRK internal dynamics.
Feb. 1, 2016
Posing Problems without an Alliance: China-Iran Relations after the Nuclear Deal
Key Points China is poised to increase economic and diplomatic cooperation with Iran as a
Korean Unification and the Future of the U.S.-ROK Alliance
Security alliances can take many forms. They can be bilateral or multilateral, symmetric or asymmetric, highly institutionalized or largely unstructured. Regardless of form, security alliances as instruments of statecraft, at their most fundamental level, reflect a deliberate commitment among states to aggregate resources in the pursuit of common interests. For over 60 years, the U.S.–Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance has defended South Korea from external attack and, through the combined efforts of both countries, contributed to peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also in Northeast Asia, across the Asia-Pacific, and beyond.
Dec. 1, 2015
Japan’s Initiatives for Deepening Cooperation with Other Countries in the Areas of Defense Equipment and Technology
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who came to power in the December 16, 2012 general election and formed his second administration together with the Komeito Party, has promoted a substantial change in Japan’s national security policy. Key policy initiatives of the Abe government include the establishment of the National Security Council, formulation of the National Security Strategy[1], formulation of new National Defense Program Guidelines, and modification of the legal basis for national security.
Nov. 22, 2015
Implications for US Extended Deterrence and Assurance in East Asia
North Korea’s burgeoning nuclear program is placing greater demands on US extended deterrence and
Nov. 3, 2015
In Good Health? The Biological Weapons Convention and the “Medicalization” of Security
Since the 1990s, the group of stakeholders working to combat biological weapons (BW) proliferation
Nov. 1, 2015
The People’s Liberation Army and Contingency Planning in China
How will China use its increasing military capabilities in the future? China faces a complicated security environment with a wide range of internal and external threats. Rapidly expanding international interests are creating demands for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to conduct new missions ranging from protecting Chinese shipping from Somali pirates to evacuating citizens from Libya. The most recent Chinese defense white paper states that the armed forces must “make serious preparations to cope with the most complex and difficult scenarios . . . so as to ensure proper responses . . . at any time and under any circumstances.”