Alliances Still Matter: The Importance of Coalition Warfare in a Unipolar World

摘要

The rapid advance of U.S. military forces in Iraq and the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime appear to have vindicated those who argued that the United States could have conducted this military campaign unilaterally. While the United Kingdom did contribute military forces that performed important missions in southern Iraq, it is clear that 'work-arounds' could have been found to make up for the absence of these units, had that been necessary. The other members of the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing' were of little value to the war-fighting effort. Some senior officials in or close to the Administration have already advocated the Iraqi Freedom approach as a template for future military strategy under a 'preemption-based' national security policy.2 This would permit US forces to act swiftly, decisively, and if necessary unilaterally to eliminate perceived threats, without the compromises, delays, and inefficiencies needed to assemble an effective warfighting coalition.