The Post-Cold War Era and the Weinberger Doctrine.

At the height of the Cold War, in 1984, then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger developed six criteria for deciding when to use United States combat forces abroad. These criteria, which became known as the Weinberger Doctrine, outlined specific tests which should be met before deploying United States combat forces. The criteria were developed at a time when some members of the Reagan Administration appeared eager to use combat force as the instrument of choice for influencing world events. Secretary Weinberger, on the other hand, believed that military force is just one of many tools of national power, and certainly not the preferred tool in every situation. Thus, he sought to restrict use of combat forces to specific situations where they could be most effective. In the ten years since Secretary Weinberger first enunciated his tests for the use of combat forces, the world political environment has changed tremendously- the Berlin wall is down, Soviet hegemony in Eastern Europe has ended, and the Soviet leadership has renounced its communist doctrine. The Cold War is over. Yet, our troops are still actively engaged in a number of countries. And at home, we are in the midst of a public debate concerning the use of United States military forces abroad. Because of this changed and changing world political environment, now is an appropriate time to examine the relevance of the Weinberger Doctrine to tbe post-Cold War world. This paper will describe the background of the Weinberger Doctrine, and discuss each of the six criteria, with emphasis on how the criteria relate to the post-Cold War environment. After examining two significant changes--the shifting balance of power and the increased threat of regional conflicts, this paper will demonstrate that the Weinberger Doctrine is no longer needed.