Browsing by Subject "Truman"

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Decision making in the grey zone : lessons from Truman, Eisenhower, and the development of nuclear strategy
(2017-05) Leland, Stephen Bailey; Suri, Jeremi
The character of modern conflict is changing. The foundations of the international system are shifting as near peer adversaries, regionally destabilizing revisionists, and global networks of terror and crime mix in an environment awash in new technology. Unfortunately, the strategic paradigms that have defined U.S. policy since 1945 are inadequate in the face of this new reality. The focus of this study is not the creation of a new paradigm; instead, it seeks to define the contours of strategic decision-making that best serve the modern moment. Seeking such a model, I analyze the assumptions and processes at play in the creation of nuclear strategy during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. Their approaches to the new strategic reality that nuclear weapons introduced were quite different, and the lessons those differences provide are instructive for today.
Finding a home for arms control : the origins of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1945-1961)
(2021-12-03) Buchleiter, Jonathan Alan; Suri, Jeremi
The advent of nuclear weapons in 1945 left US policymakers simultaneously heartened and horrified. Atomic bombs epitomized the apex of American power at the end of World War II, but the destructiveness of these new weapons also posed grave dangers to the US and the world. This paper explores US policymakers’ efforts to rein in atomic energy, first through proposed frameworks for international control and later through multilateral and bilateral limitations on nuclear weapons. Early efforts struggled to gain traction due to both persistent international tensions and an insufficient institutional framework to develop and promote arms control measures within the growing national security establishment. I argue that addressing the deficiencies of US arms control and disarmament policy helped enable diplomatic successes when conditions for compromise arose during the Cold War. Establishing the semi-autonomous Arms Control and Disarmament Agency with a sizable budget, sufficient staff, and empowered director served as a critical step to research and negotiation arms control and nonproliferation agreements during the 1960s and 1970s
Impartial allies : American policy in Palestine during the Truman administration
(2015-05) Stewart, James Clyde; Suri, Jeremi; Di-Capua, Yoav
American policy toward Palestine during the Truman administration was influenced by a number of factors, but none carried greater weight than the unfolding cold war. Because the Middle East carried so much strategic weight, American leaders were determined to ensure that the entire region remained allied with the United States. As a result, the Truman administration strove to maintain good relations with both Arabs and Israelis throughout the period. American policy did not, as many allege, favor Israel, but in fact pursued the middle-of-the-road.