O'Hanlon summarizes the military doctrine and budgetary dimensions of the Clinton administration's "bottom-up review" plan for U.S. defense forces. He argues that U.S. strategists have not yet adjusted defense planning to the post-Soviet world and are focusing excessively, if somewhat understandably, on the vestiges of the cold war in places such as the Korean peninsula. He calls for Western support of more innovative approaches to UN peace operations and a reorientation of the NATO alliance away from concern with Russia and toward other combat scenarios.

1. The Current U.S. Defense Debate. The Need for a Broader Debate. The Clinton Administration's Strategy and Force Structure. Are There Underfunding or Readiness Crises? -- 2. An Alternative Defense Posture and Budget. A Strategy for Transition. Costs and Savings of the Alternative Defense Posture -- 3. The Military Challenge of Regional War. The Nature of Regional Threats. Sizing U.S. Combat Capabilities. Logistics and Pre-positioning. Understanding Regional Military Campaigns. Planning for the Unexpected -- 4. Peace Operations, Forward Presence, and Crisis Response. U.S. Peacetime Presence. Peace Operations and the U.S. Military. Peace Operations and Multilateral Force Planning Issues -- 5. Nuclear Weapons. An Alternative Nuclear Doctrine. An Alternative Nuclear Force -- 6. Security Structures and Defense Postures for the Twenty-First Century. The NATO Alliance. U.S. Alliances in East Asia. Arms Export Policies -- Appendix A: Lanchester and Dupuy Equations.