Second to None: Preserving America's Military Advantage Through Dual-Use Technology

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War have not brought an end to the need for a strong U.S. military. Instead of a potential confrontation with a global nuclear power, we find ourselves facing challenges that are different but no less complex the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction major regional, ethnic and religious conflicts and opposition to democratic reform in the former Warsaw Pact and the Third World. These new threats, if anything, increase the need for fast, flexible, mobile forces equipped with the most advanced weapon systems. Technology is the key. Since World War II, U.S. military superiority has been based on our technological advantage, as was plainly demonstrated in the Persian Gulf War. Technology will be even more important in the uncertain and unstable environment we now face.