International Defense Commitments Of The United States

A publication of Congressional Quarterly Service.

Considers effect of the Vietnam Conflict on U.S. global military commitments.

The United States currently has formal security relationships with over forty nations, and implicit commitments to many more. The desirability of these security relationships has been called into question in the post-Vietnam era, as the United States reassesses its international role and seeks a more flexible and pragmatic approach. This kind of examination can be facilitated by a systematic analytical approach to discern the extent of our commitments and to identify those which best serve our salient national interests.

This CSIS Brief is the first in a series that explores the contours and implications of strategies that might reduce the U.S. military’s mission space through greater constraints on its ends, ways, or means. Some analysts argue that America’s post-Cold War foreign policy has not made the country any safer, has needlessly cost lives, and has been too expensive. They argue instead for a more restrained approach. This first brief explores seven intellectual strains that argue for lessened objectives, more efficient ways, or decreased resources for the U.S. defense enterprise. The brief’s purpose is to inform active debates over the role of the United States in the world and over the role of the military in U.S. national security policy.