Word: luttwak
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...fight off even a limited Soviet thrust is questionable. Indeed, if China buys modern weapons from Europe, or possibly the U.S., the 190 divisions of the People's Liberation Army may have to wait a long time to be outfitted. Says Georgetown University Military Analyst Edward N. Luttwak: "The total inventory of American ground weapons of the Army and Marines, of the active forces and reserves, would not be enough to equip the Chinese army with modern weapons...
...Luttwak conceded that extra divisions and new weapons would be helpful. But he suggested that NATO's conventional capability would be boosted more by changing its basically defensive strategy. His proposal: "Instead of responding to a Soviet push into West Germany by trying to contain the invasion all along the line, NATO could countermaneuver and penetrate into East Germany. Because this would guarantee that the enemy would immediately be hit where he is vulnerable, it might deter the attack." Yet this also would probably mean risking some West German territory, at least temporarily. Admitted Goodpaster...
...strategy was part of a broader critique of overall U.S. strategic concepts. Collins, for example, complained that "the No. 1 U.S. national security problem is the lack of creative strategic thinking. Without new strategic conceptualizing, we are not even sure that our defense policymakers are identifying the proper issues." Luttwak went further, speculating that Americans may lack the innate characteristics needed for strategic thinking. He argued: "Ours is not a culture oriented toward the accumulation and rational use of power. We have a kind of Anglo-Saxon, pragmatic penchant for separating problems into small pieces. But the essence of strategy...
Addressing the military aspect of such a strategy, Luttwak suggested "putting some more forces back on the East-West chessboard. We should not do it with pawns such as ground troops but with queens and bishops, like high-technology weapons." Agreeing with this somewhat, Hyland nonetheless wondered whether such a move would be politically feasible. He said that "we Americans do not like long, protracted struggles or conflicts. So we are constantly driven to find some simplistic solutions-SALT, détente and others-to the problem. But there is no easy or quick substitute for being prepared to confront...
...Edward Luttwak, 35, adjunct professor of international politics at Johns Hopkins University and senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies. The author of books and articles ranging from analyses of arms control and the Middle East to the strategy of ancient Rome. Luttwak has earned a reputation as one of the U.S.'s most creative and provocative defense experts with a generally "hawkish" approach...