New Challenges, New Tools for Defence Decision Making

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War and then the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 transformed the task of American foreign and defence policymaking. This book outlines the dimensions of that transformation and sketches new tools for dealing with the policy challenges from modelling and gaming, to planning based on capabilities rather than threats, to personnel planning and making use of "best practices" from the private sector. During the past decade, RAND has worked to adapt traditional defence analysis techniques to today's security environment and develop new techniques where necessary. These techniques address today's key questions: how can the US set requirements in the face of an uncertain future?; how can the US plan and programme flexibility into its forces?; how might rapid advances in commercial technologies help the armed forces?; how has the profile of the skills that the armed forces need changed and what needs to be done to recruit, train and retain the required cadre of skilled personnel?