First Strike: America, Terrorism, and Moral Tradition (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780300124484)

Can the use of force first against a less-than-imminent threat be both morally acceptable and consistent with American values? In this timely book Mark Totten offers the first in-depth, historical examination of the use of preemptive and preventive force through the lens of the just war tradition.

Although critical of the American incursion into Iraq as a so-called "preemptive war," Totten argues that the new terrorist threat nonetheless demands careful consideration of when the first use of force is legitimate. The moral tradition, he concludes, provides a principled way forward that reconciles American values and the demands of security.

Author: Mark Totten
ISBN-10: 0300124481
ISBN-13: 9780300124484
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/21/2010
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 9.62h x 6.32w x 0.81d