White House and Pentagon at Odds

The ability of leaders to develop sound national security policy and strategy has suffered immensely since the Vietnam War--in large part, this book proposes, because of generally poor civil-military relations since that time. This theory, called the civil-military relations strategy corollary, asserts that when relations between the main actors are poor, the expected strategic outcomes are correspondingly of low quality. Conversely, when relations are characterized by close cooperation, broad dialogue, and mutual respect--even during disagreements--the probability of positive strategic outcomes is greatly improved. Thus, civilian and military senior leaders should work toward maintaining sound relations in order to achieve the best national outcomes. This book uses historical case studies to demonstrate the theory in action and to distill the contributing factors that have strained civil-military relations over time. Finally, it provides recommendations to reverse the deterioration of civil-military relations in the United States.