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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > General
This book describes the evolving CBRN risk landscape and highlights
advances in the "core" CBRN technologies, including when combined
with (improvised) explosive devices (CBRNe threats). It analyses
how associated technologies create new safety and security risks,
challenging certain assumptions that underlie current control
regimes. The book also shows how technologies can be enablers for
more effective strategies to mitigate these risks. 21st-century
safety and security risks emanating from chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear materials - whether resulting from natural
events, accidents or malevolent use - are increasingly shaped by
technologies that enable their development, production or use in
ways that differ from the past. Artificial intelligence, the use of
cyberspace, the revolution in the life sciences, new manufacturing
methods, new platforms and equipment for agent delivery, hypersonic
weapons systems, information tools utilised in hybrid warfare -
these and other technologies are reshaping the global security
environment and CBRN landscape. They are leading to a growing
potential for highly targeted violence, and they can lead to
greater instability and vulnerability worldwide. At the same time,
technology offers solutions to manage CBRN risks. Examples are
faster detection, more accurate characterisation of the nature and
origin of CBRN agents, new forensic investigation methods, or new
medical treatments for victims of CBRN incidents. New educational
concepts help to foster a culture of responsibility in science and
technology and strengthen governance. New training methods help
develop practical skills to manage CBRN risks more effectively. The
book concludes that there is a growing need for a holistic
framework towards CBRN risk mitigation. Traditional arms control
mechanisms such as global, regional or bilateral treaties and
export controls are still needed, as they provide a necessary legal
and institutional framework. But laws and technology denial alone
will not suffice, and institutional mechanisms can at times be
weak. Given the pace of technological progress and the diffusion of
critical knowledge, tools and materials, policymakers must accept
that CBRN risks cannot be eliminated altogether. Instead, society
has to learn to manage these risks and develop resilience against
them. This requires a "softer", broadly based multi-stakeholder
approach involving governments, industry, the research and
development communities, educators, and civil society. Furthermore,
educating policymakers that cutting-edge technologies may seriously
affect global strategic stability could create incentives for
developing a more creative and contemporary arms control strategy
that fosters cooperation rather than incremental polarisation.
This book documents the political ecosystem that legitimized
violent military action against military-age males in US military
operations after September 11, 2001. It first introduces the
military-age male as a category used to identify insurgent
combatants who have blended into civilian environments. Though US
officials maintained that military-age males were not automatically
assumed to be combatants, defense and intelligence professionals
nevertheless used biases related to gender, age, religion and race
to interpret the battlespace. Based on an analysis of the Obama
administration's decision to exclude adolescent boys and men from
drone warfare's collateral damage count, and an examination of
similar problems with combatant identification under the Bush
administration, the author argues that the military-age male
category contributed to the deterioration of civilian protection.
The concluding chapters discusses the link between
counterinsurgency, drone warfare, and emerging trends in artificial
intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems, highlighting the
relation between algorithmic discrimination and the
misidentification of civilians as combatants.
In this narrative overview, Embser-Herbert explores the history of
the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," (DADT) the federal law
restricting the military service of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
She traces the policy from its origins in the early 1990s through
its evolution and implementation into law in the United States
military and evaluates the impact of post-9/11 events on the
military, the policy, and the ongoing debate surrounding the
existence of the policy itself as lawmakers consider its repeal.
Her three-part history of DADT begins with a brief look at earlier
policies that preceded it, a discussion of events in 1992-1993 that
resulted in the passage and implementation of the new law, and an
examination of the law's impact on the military. She also compares
the policy to that of other nations, such as Canada, Australia, and
Great Britain, that eliminated similar restrictions as they sought
ways to avoid a potential manpower shortage in their armed forces.
The War on Terror has returned DADT to the public spotlight.
Embser-Herbert examines U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan
and what they can teach about gays and lesbians in the military.
She concludes Part I with an analysis of whether the law might be
repealed or overturned. Part II of the handbook provides summaries
of key legal decisions, and Part III contains key documents, such
as the language of the law itself and excerpts from current
military regulations and training manuals. The book also includes a
chronology of events, glossary of terms, and an annotated
bibliography.
This book explores the Falklands War from an Argentinian
perspective, taking into consideration three aspects. First, it
introduces classified documents after the end of the thirty-year
ban. Second, it highlights various conceptual, institutional, and
doctrinal reforms in the Argentinian and other South American armed
forces as a result of lessons learned from the Malvinas War. Third,
it reflects on the war's long-term implications on Argentina's
foreign policy and society. The book offers the first
comprehensive, multi-level analysis, and Argentinian scholarship on
the conflict. It is based on original primary data, mainly official
documentation and interviews with military officers and combatants.
The small village in Pomerania in northern Germany provided a
peaceful haven for the childhood years of author Ingeborg E. Ryals.
But in 1939 the beginning of World War II irrevocably changed her
idyllic life.
In this memoir Ryals shares her first hand experiences as the
war began to affect every aspect of her life. At the age of
fifteen, she had to dig trenches behind the front lines and spent
many days hiding in fear of the Soviet Army as it invaded and
pillaged her village. Diphtheria and typhoid epidemics swept the
country. She survived a bout of diphtheria but lingered near death
for days on end with typhoid fever. There was little food to
sustain them. At the age of eighteen, she was shipped to a labor
camp operated by the Russian military on an island in the Baltic
Sea. Ryals also recounts her escape and her eventual marriage to an
American.
With photos included, "The Tears of War" narrates a very real
story of the tragedy of war. It shows Ryals' perseverance and her
ability to overcome obstacles in an effort to survive.
Noted Middle East military expert Anthony H. Cordesman details the
complex trends that come into play in determining the military
balance in a region that has become so critical to world peace.
This ready resource provides a wealth of information on military
expenditures and major arms systems, as well as qualitative trends,
by country and by zone. However, as Cordesman stresses, because the
"greater Middle East" is more a matter of rhetoric than military
reality, mere data summarizing trends in 23 different countries is
no substitute for a substantive explanation. Using tables, graphs,
and charts, this study explores every aspect of the regional
military balance with attention to sub-regional balances, internal
civil conflicts, and low level border tensions. The Middle East is
certainly one of the most militarized areas in the world, and
changes in technology, access to weapons of mass destruction, and
political instability contribute to a situation that has long been
in constant flux. Some of the regional flashpoints covered in this
study include the Maghreb (North Africa); the Arab-Israeli conflict
(dominated by Israel versus Syria); and the Gulf (divided into
those states that view Iran as the primary threat and those who
lived in fear of Iraq). Internal conflicts, such as those in
Mauritania, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia,
Iraq, and Yemen, increasingly dominate regional tensions. In
addition, border conflicts within the region and with neighboring
countries could further aggravate the delicate balance.
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