Blair's Successful War: British Military Intervention in Sierra Leone (Military Strategy and Operational Art)

Andrew Dorman introduces Sierra Leone as Blair's second great military adventure after Kosovo and the first he undertook on his own. It is tied to Blair's 1999 Chicago speech on the 'Doctrine of the International Community', his move towards humanitarianism and the impact of the Kosovo experience. The book links this move with the rise of cosmopolitan militaries and the increasing involvement of Western forces in humanitarian operations and their impact on the international system. Furthermore, it places it within the context of defence transformation and the emerging Western expeditionary capabilities, in particular the European Union's new battle group concept and developments in concepts such as Network Centric Warfare and Networked Enabled Capability. Examining the whole campaign and considering the impact on the Blair Government, this book will prove to be a key reader on the topic. Focusing on top civilian and military advisors within the national security establishment, this significant book looks at four case studies with a focus on civil-military relations within the US Department of Defense. It investigates whether balanced approaches produce more effective policies and outcomes than dominating structures. The culmination of Gibson's treatise is the advancement of the 'Madisonian approach' to civilian control of the military, a normative framework designed to replace Samuel Huntington's 'Objective Control' model and also the 'Subjective Control' model, initially practised by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and most recently by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Madisonian approach calls for changes in US law and new norms to guide the interactions of key participants who populate the civil-military nexus. This book is destined to influence US strategic thinking and should be added to the syllabus of courses in civil-military relations, strategic studies and military history. Given the struggling US policy in Iraq, the time is right for a critical review of US civil-military relations and this book provides the departure point for analysis and a potential way forward. "Focusing on top civilian and military advisors within the national security establishment, this significant book looks at four case studies and concludes that when it comes to civil - military relations within the Department of Defense, balanced approaches produce more effective policies and outcomes than dominating structures. Perhaps counter-intuitively, Gibson also argues that this partnership approach at the Pentagon also facilitates more effective civilian control of the military where elected leaders provide direction, decisionmaking and ensure accountability. What is required is different (although not new, as Gibson points out while reviewing the historical record) thinking concerning how key relationships of the Pentagon ought to be arranged. Specifically, Gibson argues that there needs to be recognition that top-level political appointees and the highest ranking generals in the US military form a 'civil-military nexus' and this entity has the primary responsibility for providing elected leaders (both the President and Congress) with strategic analysis, options, and advice as they sort through alternatives prior to making weighty decisions."--BOOK JACKET Putin's style of leadership has transitioned into another era but there is much still inherited from the past. In the often anarchic environment of the 1990s, the nascent Russian Federation experienced misunderstandings and mis-steps in civil-military relations. Under Boris Yeltsin it has been questioned whether the military obeyed orders from civilian authorities or merely gave lip service to those it served to protect while implementing its own policies and courses of action. Robert Brannon sets forth the circumstances under which the military instrument of Russia's power and influence could be called upon to exert force. Deriving in part from its Soviet past, the author examines how Russia's military doctrine represents more than just a road map of how to fight the nation's wars; it also specifies threats to national interests, in this case the United States, NATO and international terrorism. Against this background of politics and power, the military's influence may reveal as much about politics as it does the military. Civil-military cooperation has always been a key factor in both peace and conflict situations, and is vital in today's political climate. This indispensable volume analyzes the various types of civil-military cooperation across different settings and contexts, to include humanitarian operations such as emergency relief following tsunami, earthquakes and refugee crises, as well as stability and reconstruction operations such as those in Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The book contains contributions from both senior academics and practitioners such as military officers and humanitarian personnel and discusses the benefits and logistics of civil-military cooperation. It closes with recommendations that will be of value to both academics and practitioners, making it a must read for anyone interested or involved in these operations. "The varying types of cooperation between the military and a wide range of civilian actors are addressed in this volume. It analyses civil-military cooperation in different settings such as during emergency relief operations (tsunami, earthquakes and refugee crises) and during stability and reconstruction operations such as in Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This book contains contributions from both senior academics and practitioners such as military officers and humanitarian personnel and looks at issues such as what is to be gained by civil-military cooperation. It ends with conclusions and recommendations for both academics and practitioners making it a valuable read for people involved in these operations."--BOOK JACKET Contents 6 List of Figures and Tables 8 Glossary of Terms 10 Introduction 12 1 Blair and the Use of Military Force 18 2 Background History: From the Creation of Sierra Leone to the End of Civil War 40 3 Lomé Peace Agreement and UNAMSIL – the UN Peacekeeping Mission 56 4 Evacuation, May 2000 72 5 Saving UNAMSIL and Confronting the RUF 98 6 Operation Barras – the Hostage Rescue 114 7 The Defeat of the RUF 126 8 Impact of the Operation 138 Select Bibliography 158 Index 168 A 168 B 168 C 168 D 168 E 168 F 169 G 169 H 169 I 169 J 169 K 169 L 169 M 169 N 169 O 169 P 169 R 170 S 170 T 170 U 170 W 170 Y 170 Z 170 "This volume sets out to examine the British military operation of Sierra Leone that began in May 2000 and which still involves a commitment of British forces via the British-led International Military Advisory and Training Team (IMATT) which supports the government of Sierra Leone ... The first chapter examines the Blair legacy and the development of an interventionalist policy which led to Operation Palliser, the initial deployment to Sierra Leone, and which ultimately would also lead to the British involvement in Afghanistan in 2001, re-engagement in 2006 and the Iraq War in 2003"--Page 4 The Civil-military Dynamic : A Relationship Adrift -- Excesses And Over-corrections In Us Civil-military Relations Since The Second World War And The Return Of Donald Rumsfeld In 2001 -- The Search For Role Models -- Normative Theory In Civil-military Relations During The Cold War : The Objective Control And Subjective Control Models -- The Search For New Normative Theory In The Post-cold War Era -- A Madisonian Approach For Civil-military Relations. Christopher P. Gibson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [135]-154) And Index. Andrew Dorman introduces Sierra Leone as Blair's second great military adventure after Kosovo and the first he undertook on his own. The book links Blair's move toward humanitarianism with the rise of cosmopolitan militaries and the increasing involvement of Western forces in humanitarian operations and their impact on the international system, and will prove to be a key reader on the topic. Deriving in part from its Soviet past, Russia's military doctrine represents more than just a road map of how to fight the nation's wars; it also specifies threats to national interests, in this case the United States, NATO and international terrorism. Against this background, Robert Brannon demonstrates that the military's influence may reveal as much about politics as it does the military