Keeping the Edge : Managing Defense for the Future

by Ashton B. Carter and John P. White (Eds.)

• ISBN13: 9780262531948
• ISBN10: 0262531941
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Mit Pr

Summary

Most national security debates concern the outcomes of policies, neglecting the means by which those policies are implemented. This book argues that although the US military is the finest fighting force in the world, the system that supports it is in disrepair. Operating with Cold War-era structures and practices, it is subject to managerial and organizational problems that increasingly threaten our military's effectiveness. Keeping the Edgegoes beyond questions of Pentagon reorganization and weapons procurement to explore how the US defense establishment can improve its readiness, logistics, and ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. It also looks at how the US military can exploit information technology more effectively, improve its intelligence, and counter asymmetric threats. More comprehensive than the usual exhortation to cut waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon, the book in fact recommends changes in many government agencies, not just the Department of Defense. It shows how the US can improve its ability to implement its policies and to anticipate and adapt to a changing and uncertain world.

Table of Contents

Preface to the MIT Press Edition	ix
Preface and Acknowledgments	xi
Keeping the Edge: Managing Defense for the Future	1	(26)
Ashton B. Carter
Keeping the Edge in Joint Operations	27	(34)
John M. Shalikashvili
Bruce Rember
Phil Ehr
Thomas Longstreth
Exploiting the Internet Revolution	61	(42)
Victor A. DeMarines
David Lehman
John Quilty
Keeping the Edge in Intelligence	103	(16)
Rober J. Hermann
Countering Asymmetric Threats	119	(10)
Ashton B. Carter
William J. Perry
David Aidekman
Keeping the Technological Edge	129	(36)
Ashton B. Carter
Marcel Lettre
Shane Smith
Advancing the Revolution in Business Affairs	165	(38)
Michael J. Lippitz
Sean O'Keefe
John P. White
John Brown
Ensuring Quality People in Defense	203	(32)
David S.C. Chu
John P. White
Nurith Berstein
John Brown
Managing the Pentagon's International Relations	235	(30)
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
Christiana Briggs
Anja Miller
Strengthening the National Security Interagency Process	265	(20)
John Deutch
Arnold Kanter
Brent Scowcroft
Christopher Hornbarger
Implementing Change	285	(18)
Judith A. Miller
About the Core Group and the Authors	303	(12)
Index	315	(12)
About the Preventive Defense Project	327	(3)
About the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs	330