Towards a Maritime Strategy for the 21st Century

Abstract : Amid the celebrations following the end of the Cold War, many cautioned it was too soon for the United States to relax its guard, that the collapse of the Soviet Union was too good to be true. As time parted the veil of uncertainty, it became evident that the Cold War had yielded to a new paradigm oriented on regional threats and issues. The forces of the former Soviet Union were in disrepair, and the reemergence of a peer competitor capable of challenging U.S. security interests on a global scale was unlikely in the near-term Less than ten years from the beginning of a new century, the Armed Forces of the United States faced the challenge of reshaping their strategic visions and force structures for a changing security environment.