Paved with Good Intentions: American Military Intervention in the Contemporary World.

Guidelines restraining American military intervention may preclude the imprudent use of force. U.S. doctrine limiting military intervention, developed under Caspar Weinberger and refined under Colin Powell, has slowly devolved during the post Cold War era. Criteria found politically or militarily inconvenient were discarded under the Clinton Administration. This has contributed to foreign policy drift and unneeded world instability. Under the new defacto Doability Doctrine, military power is employed in flexible ways, to address limited, ill-defined goals. Kosovo is only the latest example. After analyzing the costs and benefits of various options, the author argues the need for guidelines, explains options and offers proposals.