The New Legions: American Strategy and the Responsibility of Power

Major General (Ret.) Edward B. Atkeson decries the decade-long campaign the United States has undertaken in the wake of 9/11 and offers a broad plan for global protection of American interests. He proposes shifting the military burden to friendly indigenous fighters recruited, trained, and equipped under United States leadership for operation in their native environments. Atkeson finds ample precedent for the effectiveness of similar legions of fighters. He lays out how such a program would work and shows how these legions could help the United States achieve its global objectives in a more cost-effective way.