Star Spangled Security Applying Lessons Learned over Six Decades Safeguarding America

by Brown, Harold; Winslow, Joyce

• ISBN13: 9780815723820
• ISBN10: 0815723822
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-04
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

Former U.S. secretary of defense Harold Brown served during the hottest part of the Cold War when the Soviet Union presented an existential threat to America. In Star Spangled Security, Dr. Brown, one of the most respected wise men of American foreign policy, gives an insider's view of U.S. national security strategy during the Carter administration, relates lessons learned, and bridges them to current challenges facing America. Brown describes his part in the SALT negotiations, the normalization of relations with China, the Camp David Accords, the development of a new generation of ballistic missiles, and more. Drawing on his earlier years as the director of the LawrenceLivermore Laboratory, as director of defense research and engineering, as Air Forcesecretary, and as president of Caltech, Brown uses his hard-won wisdom, especiallyduring the painful Iran hostage crisis, to offer specific recommendations and keyquestions to ponder as America copes with challenges in a turbulent world. Highly readable, this book is for anyone wishing to better understand the debatesabout defense and its budget, its effect on the entire economy and America's relationship with allies during conflict and peace. Brown's access to the leading forces innational security over 60 years spans five presidents, giving the reader entrée intothe inner circle of decisionmakers. Since leaving public office, Brown has served on the boards of directors of a dozen corporations. His unique economic, military, research, university, and governmentexperience _at the top of all institutions he served _makes his a voice well worth heeding. For example, he draws from experience with the Camp David Accords to make recommendations on Israel and Iran. He uses America's mistakes in Vietnam to illustratethe policies to consider in Iraq and Afghanistan. He brings us up-to-date on Chinaand how its ambitions could lead to armed conflict with the U.S.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Prologue	p. xiii
Oh, Say Can you See
The View from the Top	p. 1
What So Proudly We Hailed
Ensuring National Defense Through Its Budget	p. 6
Stripes and Bright Stars
How The Team At The Top Affects Security Policy	p. 38
The Perilous Fight
Iranian Revolution and the Hostage Crisis	p. 74
RocketsÆ Red Glare and Bombs
Plans, Programs, and Agreements	p. 86
The Ramparts We Watched
Dealing With The Outside World	p. 135
That Banner yet Waves
Preparing For What Lies Ahead	p. 183
Land of the Free
Stimulating the National Economy for International Security	p. 214
Home of the Brave
America at a Tipping Point	p. 233
Afterword	p. 243
Notes	p. 251
Index	p. 261
Endnote	p. 277
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