首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Two conflicts convinced Western countries that they dared not reduce their forces too drastically, The first was the Iraqi invas
Two conflicts convinced Western countries that they dared not reduce their forces too drastically, The first was the Iraqi invas
admin
2011-02-11
62
问题
Two conflicts convinced Western countries that they dared not reduce their forces too drastically, The first was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. This came at the height of the happiness at the end of the Cold War and the new era of peace that was expected to follow. By January 1991 it was apparent that attempts to persuade Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to withdraw through a combination of military threats, economic pressure, and diplomatic inducements had failed. American, British, and French forces found themselves using military equipment and concepts designed to deal with the Warsaw Pact in central Europe to defeat a moderate-sized Third World country. This brought home the lesson that in a world in which total war had become too horrific to contemplate even a limited war was no small matter and would demand considerable commitment.
Even so, the Gulf War was a relatively straightforward confrontation. It was against a known enemy over a clear-cut matter of principle and fought by means that played to the West’s comparative advantages, for example in air power. To defense planners, this was much to be preferred to the considerably more complicated types of conflict where opponents merged easily into their surroundings, and adopted guerrilla warfare rather than open battle.
Prudent defense planners never want to get involved in messy civil wars, while the military dislikes having to get between warring groups. It is usually easier to get in than out of these conflicts. Yet even as troops were returning from the Gulf in the summer of 1991, Yugoslavia was starting to fall apart. By 1992, British and French forces were being deplored in Bosnia, along with contingents from other countries, to try to deliver humanitarian aid and soften the blows of a bitter ethnic conflict. Eventually, in 1995, now joined by the Americans, they began to take a much tougher line and this created the conditions for a political settlement, although not an early withdrawal of outside forces. They were still needed to keep the peace.
The experience of these conflicts illustrates some of the difficulties now faced by defense planners. They must prepare for a wide range of operations, from set-piece battles to vicious inter-communal skirmishes. Even though they may hope that total wars are things of the past for the major industrialized countries, limited wars might still require the sort of capabilities once assumed to be relevant only to total wars. Limited wars also come in all shapes and sizes. In 1982 the Falklands War was won through achieving naval superiority followed by an amphibious landing, while in 1991 Kuwait was liberated through air supremacy followed by a heavy armored advance. The first stage of the Gulf crisis involved a naval blockade -- the last stage involved light forces protecting Kurds. Bosnia involved a hybrid force of infantry geared to a low-intensity conflict supported by air power conducting a high-intensity campaign. Future conflicts might involve direct attacks on environmental targets or attempts to exploit the West’s growing dependence on information technology. Terrorism and international criminal organizations are now often presented as the most serious threats to Western societies.
The main idea of the article is about ______.
选项
A、defense planning after the Cold War
B、defense planners’ problems
C、small conflicts in the world
D、potential warfare
答案
A
解析
根据原文不难得出本题答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/TzYO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Ifyouhaveeverdreamedofslippingintothecomfortingsoftnessofacashmeresweateryoushouldfollowtheexampleofthehab
Ifyouhaveeverdreamedofslippingintothecomfortingsoftnessofacashmeresweateryoushouldfollowtheexampleofthehab
WhichofthefollowinghistoricaleventsdoesNOTdirectlyhelptostimulatetherisingoftheRenaissanceMovement?
WhichpresidentdidnothingwiththerootofVietnamWar?
Thereisasaying"Wemustliveinthepresent.Ifwedwellonthepast,wewilllosethepresent."Towhatextentandinwhatw
NowadaysmanynovelsareadaptedintofilmsorTVplays.Whatdoyouthinkoffilmadaptationsofliterature?Writeacommentof
TherearethreemainpoliticalpartiesinCanada:theLiberalParty,NewDemocraticPartyand______.
TheChamberlain’sMen,inShakespeare’stime,werearemarkablegroupofpeople-excellent______whowerealsobusinesspartners
Insomespeechcommunity,twolanguagesareusedsidebysidewitheachhavingadifferentroletoplay,thisis______.
Thirty-twopeoplewatchedkittyGenovesebeingkilledrightbeneaththeirwindows.Shewastheirneigh-bor.Yetnoneofthe32
随机试题
简述国际市场细分的作用。
消化腺细胞分泌酶原颗粒的形式是
患者,女性,29岁。因胎盘早期剥离急诊入院。妊娠8个月,昏迷,牙关紧闭,手足强直,眼球结膜有出血斑,身体多处有瘀点、瘀斑,消化道出血,血尿。血压80/50mmHg,心率95次/分,尿少。实验室检查:血红蛋白70g/L,红细胞2.7×1012/L,血小板85
【背景资料】某施工单位制定了严格详细的成本管理制度,建立了规范长效的成本管理流程,并构建了科学实用的成本数据库。该施工单位拟参加某一公开招标项目的投标,根据本单位成本数据库中的类似工程项目的成本经验数据,测算出该工程项目不合规费和税金的
全自动滚筒式家用洗衣机(干衣量不超过10公斤)
某外国公民2003年2月10日宋华工作,2004年3月17日离华,2004年4月14日又来华,2004年9月26日离华,2004年10月9日又来华,2005年5月离华回国,则该人为我国的()。
企业未使用,不需用的固定资产均不将计提折旧。()
连带债权人可以由其中一人代表全体连带债权人申报债权,也可以共同申报债权。()
西欧中世纪后期产生的城市学校是一种()
TheUnitedStatesexportsalotmore【D6】________thanitimports.Theseproductsincludemovies,music,food,and【D7】________.Cu
最新回复
(
0
)