When America Fights: The Uses of U.S. Military Force

When, where, how, and to what end American force will be applied in this new century is a matter of intense debate and controversy. When America Fights takes a hard look at the United States’ military involvement in the post-cold war era, especially a growing number of peacekeeping operations. Are U.S. national interests served by this deployment of forces abroad? What types of forces are needed and when should they be employed? At what point can we proclaim mission accomplished and withdraw?

Snow uses the deployment in Kosovo as a primary example, but refers back to the role of U.S. troops in Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, and Iraq, extrapolating from those operations in an effort to theorize about the future uses of military force. Snow looks at the likely future patterns of violence-paramilitary activities, terrorism, and internal wars-and then suggest the direction policy might take and the difficulties associated with the difference objectives, thereby framing the alternatives in a way that fosters classroom debate and discussion.