The U.S. Military's Quest for Useable Weapons (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521119511)

This book addresses an important but little-noticed phenomenon in the revolutionary world of military technology. Across a wide range of otherwise-unrelated weapons programs, the Pentagon is now pursuing arms that are deliberately crafted to be less powerful, less deadly, and less destructive than the systems they are designed to supplement or replace. This direction is historically anomalous; military forces generally pursue ever-bigger bangs, but the modern conditions of counter-insurgency warfare and military operations "other than war" (such as peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance) demand a military capable of modulated force. By providing a capacity to intervene deftly yet effectively, the new generations of "useable" weaponry should enable the U.S. military to accomplish its demanding missions in a manner consistent with legal obligations, public relations realities, and political constraints. Five case studies are provided, regarding precision-guided "smart bombs," low-yield nuclear weapons, self-neutralizing anti-personnel land mines, directed-energy anti-satellite weapons, and non-lethal weapons.

Author: David A. Koplow
ISBN-10: 0521119510
ISBN-13: 9780521119511
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/30/2009
Pages: 284
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Chronicle of Higher Education 01/15/2010 pg. 21
Choice 07/01/2010