The U.S. Army War College and the National Bureau of Asian Research
(NBR) are two organizations with which I have a strong connection. I was
in the class of 1976 at Carlisle and I currently serve on the Board of
NBR where I am closely aligned with the Strategic Asia Program. As such,
I was quite pleased when the NBR joined the continuing efforts of the
U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute to study
developments in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) as cosponsors of
the 19th PLA Carlisle Conference from October 6-8, 2006. Right-Sizing
the People's Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China's Military
is the ninth volume in this series published by the Strategic Studies
Institute and represents the collective scholarly efforts of those who
contributed to the 2006 conference. The book addresses how the
leadership of China and the PLA view what size of PLA best meets China's
requirements.