O'Hanlon, Michael E.
O'HANLON, Michael E.
(Michael Edward O'Hanlon)
PERSONAL: Male. Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1982, M.S.E., 1987, M.A., 1988; Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, Ph.D., 1991.
ADDRESSES: Office—Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-2188. E-mail—meo14@columbia.edu.
CAREER: Writer and educator. Peace Corps Volunteer, Congo, 1982–84; Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, defense and foreign policy budget analyst, 1989–94; Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, 1994–, currently a senior fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, and the Sydney Stein, Jr. Chair; Columbia University, New York, NY, adjunct professor; Georgetown University, Washington, DC, adjunct professor, 1996–; Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, visiting lecturer. Also previously served as a research assistant with the National Security Division, Institute for Defense Analyses.
Also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations.
AWARDS, HONORS: Foreign Policy Studies senior fellow.
WRITINGS:
The Art of War in the Age of Peace: U.S. Military Posture for the Post-Cold War World, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1992.
Defense Planning for the Late 1990s: Beyond the Desert Storm Framework, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1995.
(Editor, with others) The Anthropology of Landscape: Perspectives on Space and Place, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1997.
(With Carol Graham) A Half Penny on the Federal Dollar: The Future of Development Aid, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1997.
Saving Lives with Force: Military Criteria for Humanitarian Intervention, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1997.
How to Be a Cheap Hawk: The 1999 and 2000 Defense Budgets, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1998.
Technological Change and the Future of Warfare, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2000.
(With Ivo H. Daalder) Winning Ugly: NATO's War to Save Kosovo, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2000.
(Editor, with Robert L. Welsch) Hunting the Gatherers: Ethnographic Collectors, Agents, and Agency in Melanesia, 1870s–1930s, Berghahn Books (New York, NY), 2000.
(With James M. Lindsay) Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2001.
Defense Policy Choices for the Bush Administration, 2001–2005, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2001.
(With others) Protecting the American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2002, updated with a new preface, 2003.
Expanding Global Military Capacity for Humanitarian Intervention, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2003.
(With Mike Mochizuki) Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: How to Deal with a Nuclear North Korea, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 2003.
Neither Star Wars nor Sanctuary: Constraining the Military Uses of Space, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2004.
Defense Strategy for the Post-Saddam Era, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2005.
(With Michael A. Levi) The Future of Arms Control, Brookings Institution Press (Washington, DC), 2005.
Contributor to anthologies, including Toward a True Alliance: Restructuring U.S.-Japan Security Relations, edited by Mike Mochizuki, 1997; Setting National Priorities: The 2000 Election and Beyond, edited by Henry J. Aaron and Robert D. Reischauer, 1999; and Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget, edited by Alice M. Rivlin and Isabel Sawhill, 2004. Contributor to periodicals, including Brookings Policy Brief, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Security, Japan Quarterly, National Interest, National Security Studies Quarterly, Orbis, Survival, and World Policy Journal, Also coauthor of two Congressional Budget Office studies.
SIDELIGHTS: Michael E. O'Hanlon, an expert in Asian security issues, arms treaties, civil warfare, military technology, and U.S. defense strategy and budget issues, is the author of several books about reforming defense spending and strategy, including How to Be a Cheap Hawk: The 1999 and 2000 Defense Budgets and Winning Ugly: NATO's War to Save Kosovo.
In his first book, The Art of War in the Age of Peace: U.S. Military Posture for the Post-Cold War World, published in 1992, O'Hanlon examines ways to streamline the act of preparing for war. One of his prescriptions involves significant reductions in the U.S. military: a forty-to-fifty-percent cut in combat forces and as much as a ninety-percent reduction in the nuclear military. His 1995 follow-up book, Defense Planning for the Late 1990s: Beyond the Desert Storm Framework, rethinks the possibilities for defense spending at the end of the millennium. Air Power History reviewer John Davis called the book "ambitious and well researched" and added, "Providing a readable and highly competent analysis of the Bottom Up Review (BUR), O'Hanlon takes the reader on a journey of the rapidly changing environment of defense planning and budgeting since Desert Storm."
In one of his central theses, O'Hanlon argues that the U.S. government should not squander time and resources preparing to fight simultaneous wars in two theaters at once, as President George Bush, Sr. decreed in the early 1990s. Instead, O'Hanlon embraces former Secretary of Defense Les Aspin's "win-hold-win" plan, which involves taking the offensive in one hostile region while holding defensively in the other trouble zone. He also calls for eliminating the F-22 fighter and increasing peacekeeping initiatives that involve training foreign forces rather than sending U.S. troops. Part of the Brookings Institution series, the book deals with controversial subject matter. Issues in Science and Technology reviewer Stephen Biddle noted, "The value of the Brookings series has always been more in starting debates than in ending them, and that is surely the case here as well." He added, "O'Hanlon has done the community a service by laying out an explicit, detailed blueprint for reducing defense spending."
In A Half Penny on the Federal Dollar: The Future of Development Aid, O'Hanlon teams up with Carol Graham to ask hard-nosed questions about humanitarian relief and foreign aid in general. As the title suggests, the total sum of U.S. government funds devoted to foreign aid amounts to less than one penny per federal dollar spent. Throughout the book, O'Hanlon and Graham attempt to explain how this paltry average came to be and what can be done to increase foreign aid. Journal of International Affairs reviewer Derek Chollet wrote that A Half Penny on the Federal Dollar "should prove a valuable first stop for anyone interested in the future of foreign assistance programs." Chapter by chapter, O'Hanlon and Graham call for foreign aid allocation that makes economic growth its principal goal; according to this approach, the government would reward nations with sound economic policies or with the potential for economic rehabilitation. Reviewing the book for the Journal of Development Studies, Mak Arvin worried that this strategy might not empower the most impoverished nations of the world, but he concluded, "On the positive side, this book is quite readable and includes a four-page index and extensive reference notes completing each of the authors' six chapters."
Also published in 1997, Saving Lives with Force: Military Criteria for Humanitarian Intervention suggests specific steps western military forces can take to intervene in war-torn countries whose governments have disintegrated. O'Hanlon bases his theories on actual events occurring in Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, and elsewhere. He outlines specific strategies for intervention, estimates loss of life, and arrives at a budget total.
With the 1998 publication of How to Be a Cheap Hawk: The 1999 and 2000 Defense Budgets, O'Hanlon won more praise for his smooth, reader-friendly writing style. Randy Willoughby of the Political Science Quarterly wrote, "This is an excellent book, first and foremost for being as trim and efficient as the Pentagon force structure it proposes." How to Be a Cheap Hawk offers a proposal for complete Pentagon reform. Reviewing the book for the Marine Corps Gazette, F. G. Hoffman remarked, "Dr. Michael O'Hanlon, the Brookings Institution's well-respected military analyst, offers a reasonably justified and comprehensive blueprint to reshape the defense budget." Throughout the penny-pinching proposal, O'Hanlon trims where he sees fit, calling for fewer V-22 planes, a smaller Marine Corps positioned overseas, and adding bulk where he deems appropriate, namely in the sky. He recommends increased air power in both offensive and defensive campaigns. Picking up where he left off in Defense Planning for the Late 1990s, O'Hanlon also echoes his belief in a "win-hold-win" approach to double-trouble war preparation. Finally, he argues that the much talked-about Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), a reliance on the power of electronics, is far from a revolution; weapons of air, sea, and land are every bit as essential now as before. O'Hanlon also strives to supply solutions for more efficient defense spending. "For all the money spent on the National Defense Panel, Congress could have bought 535 copies of this monograph instead," Hoffman wrote.
In Technological Change and the Future of Warfare, O'Hanlon continues his evaluation of technological advances in defense. He suggests that, though some innovations may advance military operations, a revolution will not occur for quite a long while. Library Journal reviewer Mark E. Ellis found Technological Change and the Future of Warfare to be "very well written, researched, and documented."
In 1997, O'Hanlon coedited The Anthropology of Landscape: Perspectives on Space and Place, a collection of critical essays ruminating on the notions of place and landscape as personal articulation and analytical concept. Reviewing the book for Current Anthropology, Mari-Jose Amerlinck wrote, "The conceptual vocabulary for the anthropological study of spatial relations is not yet fully established, but this volume marks a significant step toward achieving this goal."
Winning Ugly: NATO's War to Save Kosovo, examines the 1999 war in Kosovo in which Nato played the primary role. O'Hanlon and his coauthor, Daalder, use interviews with many of the key players in the war to delve into all aspects of the conflict. Noting that the authors "are both understanding and critical," Naval War College Review contributor Tom Fedyszyn felt that the authors' "examination of the conduct of the war … is the best part of the book, bringing to light the strategic and tactical mistakes committed by Nato's heads of state, diplomats, and generals alike." Fedyszyn continued, "This book enhances our understanding of what may become the future of Nato as well as some part of the future of war." Kalev Sepp, writing in the Joint Force Quarterly, called the book "a crisp, reasoned critique of political and military actions in the Balkans."
With his coauthor James M. Lindsay, O'Hanlon examines the "Star Wars" defense plan in Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense. First developed during the Ronald Reagan administration in the 1980s, the plan called for the development of a complex and expensive multilayered missile defense system. In the book O'Hanlon and Lindsay discuss a wide range of issues, from the types of threats that America faces to the system itself and the political issues surrounding it. Writing in the Library Journal, Daniel K. Blewett noted that the authors believe that the "diplomatic costs" associated with the system restrict the country's approach to missile defense and called the book a "well-argued work." Political Science Quarterly contributor Richard L. Garwin felt that the "book advances the debate over national missile defense" and noted that it contains a "helpful compendium of treaty texts, threat assessments, and the like." O'Hanlon looks at the issue of missiles in space once again in his book Neither Star Wars nor Sanctuary: Constraining the Military Uses of Space, A contributor to Arms Control Today called the book "a logical case against weaponizing space."
In Defense Policy Choices for the Bush Administration, 2001–2005, O'Hanlon discusses the proper way the administration should allocate and spend military and defense resources. In the book, the author analyzes various aspects of issue, from strategy and readiness to the use of ground forces and offensive nuclear weapons planning. "However, the terrorist attacks of '9/11' and the completion of the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) have changed fiscal conditions and defense strategy," noted Cynthia Perrotti in the Naval War College Review. Perrotti went on to note, "Nevertheless, O'Hanlon's exhaustive research and insightful analysis make this an interesting book for readers of strategy and force-planning decision making."
O'Hanlon and several colleagues look at the issue of homeland security in their book, Protecting the American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis, Warren M. Wiggins, writing in the Naval War College Review, noted that the book "analyzes the problems of national security, determines the progress of current programs, and designs an agenda for future endeavors." The authors discuss the approach to homeland security by focusing on four priorities: securing the U.S. border, taking preventive measures to stop terrorist attacks within the U.S., focusing on protecting the most likely terrorist targets, and dealing effectively with a terrorist attack to mitigate its effects. Wiggins called the book "an excellent introduction to strategic approaches to the threats that face this nation." He also noted, "It provides a backdrop for further research into homeland defense."
O'Hanlon and Mike Mochizuki explore the threat posted by nuclear weapons development in North Korea in their book Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: How to Deal with a Nuclear North Korea. The authors offer a new approach to bring peace and stability to the Korean peninsula while bringing North Korea into the international fold. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the authors "propose a clear, reasoned and, most important, achievable 'grand bargain' with the North that would involve a broad range of demands while offering specific incentives to reform." Jay Freeman, writing in Booklist, commented that "their proposals are worthy of consideration."
O'Hanlon takes on the issue of reinvigorating efforts for international arms control in The Future of Arms Control, which he wrote with Michael A. Levi. Writing in Issues in Science and Technology, Jonathan B. Tucker noted that the authors "argue that although arms control as practiced during the Cold War is dead, the concept should be revived in a new framework that is adapted to the changed security environment." The authors make a case of a diminished role for nuclear weapons in U.S. doctrine and that new efforts at arms control should "rely less on negotiated agreements and more on unilateral restraint and voluntary parallel actions by like-minded countries," as noted by Tucker. In his review, Tucker also wrote, "On balance, Levi and O'Hanlon have taken a useful first step in challenging neoconservative anti-arms-control orthodoxy." Writing in Arms Control Today, John D. Steinbruner commented that the book "lucidly raises immediate practical questions that no one is in position to settle and thereby promotes the further thought that will be necessary. That alone is good reason for appreciation."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Air Power History, summer, 1999, John Davis, review of Defense Planning for the Late 1990s: Beyond the Desert Storm Framework, p. 56.
Air Space & Power Journal, winter, 2003, James H. Clifford, review of Protecting the American Homeland: A Preliminary Analysis, p. 103.
Arms Control Today, September, 2004, review of Neither Star Wars nor Sanctuary: Constraining the Military Uses of Space, p. 48; March, 2005, John D. Steinbruner, review of The Future of Arms Control, p. 45.
Booklist, September 1, 2003, Jay Freeman, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: How to Deal with a Nuclear North Korea, p. 31.
Books in Canada, February, 2000, Christopher Merrill, "The Immaculate War," pp. 7-8.
Business Week, December 1, 2003, Mark L. Clifford, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, p. 17.
Current Anthropology, December, 1998, Mari-Jose Amerlinck, review of The Anthropology of Landscape: Perspectives on Space and Place, p. 738.
Economist, July 11, 1998, review of How to Be a Cheap Hawk: The 1999 and 2000 Defense Budgets, pp. S3-S4; January 24, 2004, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, p.74.
Foreign Affairs, November-December, 1995, Eliot A. Cohen, review of Defense Planning for the Late 1990s, pp. 121-122; July-August, 1998, David C. Hendrickson, review of A Half Penny on the Federal Dollar: The Future of Development Aid, pp. 119-120; September-October, 1998, Eliot A. Cohen, review of How to Be a Cheap Hawk, pp. 150-151.
Issues in Science and Technology, summer, 1996, Stephen Biddle, review of Defense Planning for the Late 1990s, p. 79; spring, 2005, Jonathan B. Tucker, review of The Future of Arms Control, p. 87.
Joint Force Quarterly, sprint, 2002, Kalev Sepp, review of Winning Ugly: NATO'S War to Save Kosovo, p. 110.
Journal of Development Studies, June, 1998, Mak Arvin, review of A Half-Penny on the Federal Dollar, pp. 169-170.
Journal of International Affairs, fall, 1998, Derek Chollet, review of A Half Penny on the Federal Dollar, p. 380.
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, September, 1997, Steven Feld, review of The Anthropology of Landscape, pp. 610-612.
Library Journal, March 15, 2000, Mark E. Ellis, review of Technological Change and the Future of Warfare, p. 110; December 1, 2001, Daniel K. Blewett, review of Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense, p. 208; November 15, 2003, Marcia L. Sprules, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, p. 83.
Marine Corps Gazette, October, 1998, F.G. Hoffman, review of How to Be a Cheap Hawk, p. 57.
Nation, June 7, 2004, Selig S. Harrison, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, p. 23.
Naval War College Review, winter, 2005, Tom Fedyszyn, review of Winning Ugly, p. 153; winter, 2003, Cynthia Perrotti, review of Defense Policy Choices for the Bush Administration, p. 170; spring, 2003, Warren M. Wiggins, review of Protecting the American Homeland, p. 149.
Political Science Quarterly, spring, 1999, Randy Willoughby, review of How to Be a Cheap Hawk, pp. 141-142; summer, 2002, Richard L. Garwin, review of Defending America, p. 311.
Publishers Weekly, August 4, 2003, review of Crisis on the Korean Peninsula, p. 68.
ONLINE
Brookings Institution Web site, http://www.brookings.edu/ (August 28, 2005), faculty profile of author.
School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University Web site, http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/ (August 28, 2005), faculty profile of author.
OTHER
America's Intelligence Wire, June 9, 2003, "Interview with Senator Diane Feinstein; Interview with the Brookings Institute's Michael O'Hanlon"; August 11, 2003, "Interview with Brookings Institution Michael O'Hanlon; Angry Iraqis Create a Weekend of Violence in Basra"; December 16, 2003, "Interviews with Michael O'Hanlon, William Rosenhau;" April 9, 2004, "Interview with Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon"; May 17, 2004, "Terrorists Assassinate Important Iraqi Leader; Interview with Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon"; October 4, 2004, "Interview with Michael O'Hanlon"; January 13, 2005, "Impact: Interview with Brookings Institution Fellow Michael O'Hanlon, 'Allah's Torch' Author Tracey Dahlby"; January 14, 2005, "Interview with Michael O'Hanlon"; February 2, 2005, "Interview with Michael O'Hanlon"; February 22, 2005, "Interview with Michael O'Hanlon."