War and/or peace
Whatever economic wealth or diplomatic resources a country may have at its disposal, when push comes to shove, it will be powerless to exert foreign influence or resist foreign pressure unless it possesses competent and effective armed forces. According to German military theorist Karl von Clauswitz (1780-1831), "War is nothing but the continuation of politics with the admixture of other means." This stark realist point of view has also been expressed by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who responded to Churchill's warning at the Potsdam Conference in 1945 that the Catholic Church would resist the imposition of a communist government in Poland by asking, "how many divisions does the Pope have?" Likewise, Chinese leader Mao Zedong declared, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." That being the case, it is essential for any leading contemplating the use of military force to think very clearly about what the political objectives are: to punish, to coerce, to intimidate, to deter, or to conquer territory.
It is important to note that the existence of nuclear weapons has not made war "obsolete" as many once thought; it simply constrains major powers from taking actions that might risk all-out retaliation from the other side. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union developed small "tactical" nuclear warheads that supposedly could be used on the battlefield. This remains a dubious proposition, however, and such weapons are being dismantled in the wake of the Cold War.
United States armed forces
Military forces data
U.S. ground forces
| Division |
Home base(s) |
Now? |
| 1st Armored* |
Wiesbaden, Germany; Ft. Riley, KS |
home |
| 1st Cavalry |
Ft. Hood, TX |
arriving in Iraq |
| 1st Infantry (Mech.)* |
Wurzburg, Germany; Ft. Riley, KS |
home |
| 2nd Infantry (Mech.)* |
Camp Red Cloud, S. Korea; Ft. Lewis, WA |
home |
| 3rd Infantry (Mech.)* |
Ft. Stewart & Ft. Benning, GA |
home |
| 4th Infantry (Mech.)* |
Ft. Hood, TX; Ft. Carson, CO |
Iraq (until Jan.) |
| 7th Infantry (Light)** |
Fort Carson, CO |
home |
| 24th Infantry (Mech.)** |
Ft. Riley, KS (NC, SC, GA) |
home - N.G. |
| 25th Infantry (Light)* |
Schofield Barracks, HI; Ft. Lewis, WA |
home |
| 10th Mountain |
Fort Drum, NY |
Afghan. |
| 82nd Airborne |
Fort Bragg, NC |
home |
| 101st Airborne |
Fort Campbell, KY |
Iraq |
| 28th Infantry (N.G.) |
Harrisburg, PA |
Iraq? |
| 29th Infantry (Light) (N.G.) |
Fort Belvoir, VA |
home |
| 34th Infantry (N.G.) |
Rosemont, MN |
home |
| 35th Infantry (N.G.) |
Fort Leavenworth, KS |
home |
| 36th Infantry (N.G.) |
Austin, TX |
Iraq |
| 38th Infantry (N.G.) |
Indianapolis, IN |
home |
| 40th Infantry (Mech.) (N.G.) |
Los Alamitos, CA |
home? |
| 42nd Infantry (Mech.) (N.G.) |
Troy, NY |
Iraq |
| 1st Marine Exped. Force |
Camp Pendleton, CA |
home |
| 2nd Marine Exped. Force |
Camp Lejeune, NC |
Iraq |
| 3rd Marine Exped. Force |
Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan |
home |
NOTE: This information is tentative, pending further research. Elements of some divisions currently based at home are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. This table does not include separate brigades, armored cavalry regiments, or smaller units.
* Most divisions have one brigade based separately.
** The 7th and 24th Infantry Divisions are mere umbrella organizations, not intended to be deployed en masse.
SOURCES: Divisional Web sites, via army.mil, as well as strategypage.com, GlobalSecurity.org, and Washington Post
U.S. naval forces
- 12 Aircraft carriers
- 27 Cruisers
- 52 Destroyers
- 35 Frigates
- 21 Patrol boats
- 27 Mine warfare ships
- 41 Amphibious ships
- 18 Submarines (ballistic missile)
- 55 Submarines (attack)
NOTE: The above figures exclude inactive ("mothballed") ships: three aircraft carriers (Ranger, Independence, Constellation), plus two battleships, and miscellaneous craft.
U.S. aircraft carriers
| Carrier name, hull number |
Home port |
Deployment notes |
Commissioned |
| Kitty Hawk (CV 63) |
Yokosuka, Japan |
began fall cruise Oct. 2006 |
1961 |
| Enterprise (CVN 65) |
Norfolk, VA |
air support to Afghanistan, Sept. 2006- |
1961 |
| J. F. Kennedy (CV 67) |
Mayport (Jacksonville), FL |
. |
1968 |
| Nimitz (CVN 68) |
San Diego, CA |
. |
1975 |
| Eisenhower (CVN 69) |
Norfolk, VA |
arrived in Arabian Sea Nov. 2006 |
1977 |
| Vinson (CVN 70) |
Newport News, VA |
. |
1982 |
| Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) |
Norfolk, VA |
returned from deployment March 2006 |
1986 |
| Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) |
Everett, WA |
|
1989 |
| George Washington (CVN 73) |
Norfolk, VA |
in dry dock |
1992 |
| John C. Stennis (CVN 74) |
Bremerton, WA |
finished exercise in Pacific, Oct. 2006 |
1995 |
| Harry S Truman (CVN 75) |
Norfolk, VA |
. |
1998 |
| Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) |
San Diego, CA |
returned home Oct. 20, 2006 |
2003 |
| George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) |
Newport News, VA ? |
Christened Oct. 7, 2006 |
2008 |
SOURCE: navy.mil (Incomplete information; additional carriers are in war zone.)
U.S. air forces
This section pertains to the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps. Only combat aircraft are listed.
U.S. Air Force
2,737 combat aircraft
- 94 B-52 Stratofortress
- 93 B-1
- 21 B-2
- 218 F-4 Phantom (in store)
- 717 F-15 Eagle
- 6 F-22 Raptor
- 294 F-111 Raven
- 52 F-117 Stealth
- 225 A-10 Warthog
- 21 AC-130
U.S. Army
1,502 armed helicopters
- 511 AH-1 Huey
- 743 AH-64 Apache
U.S. Navy & Marines
1,456 combat aircraft, 543 armed helicopters
- 771 F/A-18 Hornet
- 119 AV-8B Harrier
- 193 F-14 Tomcat (junked)
U.S. strategic missiles
- ~200 Trident D5 SLBM
- ~160 Trident C4 SLBM
- 500 Minuteman III
- 50 Peacekeeper (MX)
SOURCE: The Military Balance, 2000-2001 (IISS). NOTE: The information above is six years old; updates are pending.
U.S. deaths in past wars
Anyone who argues that a given war is either worth the sacrifice, or not worth the sacrifice, must view the casualties in proper historical context. For example, the average monthly American combat fatalities in the current war in Iraq -- which should more properly be called a low-level insurgency action because no large-scale enemy formations are involved -- is the lowest of any war since the Revolutionary War. In terms of the effect of war deaths on "home front" morale, what distinguishes this war and other recent wars from those of the distant past is the sense of immediacy conveyed by television. In other words, it is largely a matter of perception.
| War |
Began |
Ended |
Months |
Combat
deaths |
Other
deaths |
Total
deaths |
Deaths /
month |
| Revolutionary War |
June 1775 |
Oct. 1781 |
79 |
4,435 |
. |
4,435 |
56 |
| War of 1812 |
June 1812 |
Jan. 1815 |
30 |
2,260 |
. |
2,260 |
75 |
| Mexican War |
Jan. 1846 |
Jan. 1848 |
24 |
1,733 |
11,550 |
13,283 |
553 |
| Civil War (both sides) |
Apr. 1861 |
Apr. 1865 |
49 |
214,939 |
59,297 |
274,236 |
5,597 |
| Spanish-American War |
Apr. 1898 |
Aug. 1898 |
4 |
385 |
2,061 |
2,446 |
612 |
| World War I |
Apr. 1917 |
Nov. 1918 |
20 |
53,513 |
63,195 |
116,708 |
5,835 |
| World War II |
Dec. 1941 |
Aug. 1945 |
45 |
292,131 |
115,185 |
407,316 |
9,051 |
| Korean War |
June 1950 |
July 1953 |
37 |
33,667 |
3,249 |
36,916 |
998 |
| Vietnam War |
Aug. 1964 |
Jan. 1973 |
101 |
47,393 |
10,800 |
58,193 |
576 |
| Persian Gulf War |
Jan. 1991 |
Feb. 1991 |
1.5 |
148 |
151 |
299 |
199 |
| Iraq War |
Mar. 2003 |
>> |
36 |
1,900+ |
400+ |
2,300+ |
64 |
SOURCE: The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004; Global Security; Washington Post
Books
James F. Dunnigan, How to Make War The author was the co-founder of Simulations Publications, Inc., the original publisher of Strategy & Tactics magazine and many wargames. He is now a military consultant and oversees the Strategy Page web site.
Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War (New York: Free Press, 1973).
Winston S. Churchill, Memoirs of the Second World War -- Abridgement of the six volumes (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1959)
Eugence Dyer, War (New York: Crown Publishers, 1985). For those who recoil at the very notion of studying war, this book is a good pacifist-leaning historical and philosophical examination of the subject.
Sir Basil H. Liddell Hart, Strategy (New York: Praeger, 1967). Along with Germany's Heinz Guderian and France's Charles DeGaulle, Liddell Hart was one of the leading exponents of the strategy of "indirect approach," in contrast to the Clauswitzian notion of striking at an enemy's center of power. This was one of the keys to the success of blitzkrieg in the early years of World War II. (Thanks, Dad!)
John Keegan, The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme (New York: Vintage Books, 1977). Prof. Keegan has written prolifically about military history, and this book is distinguished by examining what fighting has been like for front-line infantry troops in various historical eras.
Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 (New York: Random House, 1987). This book inspired me to apply my knowledge of economic matters to the study of the grand strategic questions of national survival and collapse.
Peter Paret (ed.), Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986). This thick textbook has excellent chapters on the military leaders and thinkers whose innovations brought about victory.
Bruce Porter, War and the Rise of the State: The Military Foundations of Modern Politics (New York: The Free Press, 1994). This book deals with "state building," the long process by which fractured regional powers become unified into nation-states as a collateral effect of waging war.
Thomas Schelling, Arms and Influence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964).Prof. Schelling is a leading scholar of strategic studies, having applied game theory to analyze nuclear deterrence policies.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War trans. Samuel B. Griffith (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971).
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations (New York: Basic Books, 1977).
Russell F. Weigley, The American Way of War (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973).
The Military Balance, annual series (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies)
