Overview

"*This book is in the Rapid Communications in Conflict and Security (RCCS) Series (General Editor: Thomas G. Mahnken; Founding Editor: Geoffrey R.H. Burn) Beginning in 2010, a public debate emerged about the role of so-called mainland strikes in any US military strategy toward China. Mainland strikes refer to wartime attacks on military targets located on the Chinese mainland with non-nuclear (""conventional"") weapons. This debate arose as American military strategists began to confront the implications of growing Chinese military power. Potential strategies were often defined, at least partially, by their relationship to and views toward mainland strikes. Some strategies assumed that an American president, and their advisers, would be willing to authorize or recommend mainland strikes in a future war with China. This course of action emphasized the procurement of a military force optimized to carry out these mainland strikes. Other strategies assumed an extreme unwillingness to recommend mainland strikes. These strategies called for building and training a military force capable of operational tasks other than mainland strikes. This book investigates the soundness of these two contradictory assumptions about mainland strikes so that strategists and American military planners can better understand the course of a future US-China war. This is a war that will hopefully never occur due, in part, to sound American military planning that maintains deterrence. Armed with knowledge about the conditions that make mainland strikes more or less likely, both military and civilian decision-makers can create better military strategy toward China."

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9781621966777

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Reviews

"""Meyers takes on a problem of immense importance, complexity, and delicacy for the nation's security with clarity, logic, and rigor. In doing so, he provides a tremendously valuable service for decisionmakers as well as scholars and analysts. An indispensable reference for anyone thinking seriously about how the United States can best deter or, if necessary, fight a war with China."" -Elbridge A. Colby, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development ""In a war with China, a US president would face tough decisions about whether to authorize conventional strikes against mainland China. 'Deep strikes' could be necessary for the US military to prevail, but these also raise risks of escalation to the nuclear level. John Speed Meyers uses multiple methods-historical case studies, interviews with former senior officials, and surveys of US national security professionals-to identify the factors that would shape recommendations to the president. Meyers illuminates the difficult choices and argues that US military planners have to be prepared to fight with and without mainland strikes. Essential reading for military and civilian leaders, planners, and strategists grappling with the return of great power competition and the possibility of war with a nuclear-armed China."" -Phillip C. Saunders, Director, NDU Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, and coauthor of The Paradox of Power: Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Era of Vulnerability ""Hopefully there will never be an actual war across the Taiwan Strait that would necessitate the US military asking the American president whether they are authorized to strike the Chinese mainland. Asking this question now, however, and preparing plans that can accommodate the full range of potential answers to it, is absolutely critical. John Speed Meyers has done a great service by bringing structured research to bear on this critical topic in US defense planning. The book is a must read for mid-career and senior military officers, policymakers, and anyone else interested in US military policy in Asia (or beyond). This study has implications for everything from weapons acquisition to strategy to military diplomacy, and it is built on thorough and commendable historical research, interviews, and surveys conducted with former policymakers."" -Eric Heginbotham, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Center for International Studies"

Author Information

John Speed Meyers is the head of research and development at Chainguard, a software supply chain security startup. He holds a PhD from the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an MPA from Princeton University. Dr. Meyers has previously worked at In-Q-Tel, the RAND Corporation, and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

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