Faced with numerous challenges resultant from intelligence inertia, information overload, agenda-driven intelligence, and so forth, African military intelligence organisations must revisit the art of HUMINT (Human Intelligence). It remains a vital prerequisite to know and understand a challenger, an enemy, or a threat. Without intelligence, adjustments and corrections to strategies and operational designs cannot be made. Without it, the armed forces will be unable to discover the strategic or operational intent of the hostile forces.

African military intelligence organisations currently face a deficit when it comes to the approaches to and collection of intelligence-information by human sources. These organisations must reassess how they are posited and become more forward-looking, pre-emptive, and action orientated and with a deeper operational reach. For defensive, offensive and containment reasons, the role of humans as collectors of intelligence-information must be more aggressively pursued.

Covering topics such as understanding the role of military intelligence, HUMINT operations in Africa, intelligence tradecraft, and combat intelligence in support of Composite Warfare operations, this book is both a valuable contribution and guide to African military intelligence organisations and their trainers. It ought to be on every intelligence officer’s bookshelf.

Over the past century, South Africa’s military has established itself in several defining battles and operations. Preferring manoeuvre over attrition, and often punching above their weight, they have become known for their tenacity, dash, and ability to defy the odds. Their unique command style also sets them apart from other armies and has helped them excel in challenging circumstances.

In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate how South Africa’s way of war evolved over a 100-year period. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the South African defence forces, rediscovering historical continuity, if any, and the lessons learned in past battles and operations such as Otavifontein, Delville Wood, Southern Ethiopia, Tobruk, Chiusi, Savannah, Cassinga, Cuito Cuanavale and Boleas.

The book also identifies a number of firsts for the defence force, such as the first ever deployment during the 1914 Industrial Strike; the varied deployments across different theatres during both world wars; the first large scale crossborder deployments during the Border War; the first deployment of the new South African National Defence Force after 1994; and, culminating with the recent, and now infamous, Battle of Bangui.

Has any war in history gone according to plan? Monarchs, dictators and elected leaders alike have a dismal record on military decision-making, from over-ambitious goals to disregarding intelligence, terrain, or enemy capabilities. This not only wastes the lives of civilians, the enemy and one’s own soldiers, but also fails to achieve geopolitical objectives, and usually lays the seeds for more wars.

Conflict scholar and former soldier Mike Martin takes the reader through the hard logic to fighting a conclusive interstate war that solves geopolitical problems and reduces future conflict. He outlines how to orchestrate military forces, from infantry and information to strategy and tactics.

Martin explains the unavoidable art of using violence to force your enemies to do what you want. It should be read by everyone seeking to understand today’s wars, and those wishing to lead us through future conflicts.

A deeply thought-provoking book full of wisdom, insight and common sense, by two of our foremost strategists.’ – James Holland, bestselling author of The War in the West
 
How have the character and technology of war changed in recent times?
Why does battlefield victory often fail to result in a sustainable peace?
What is the best way to prevent, fight and resolve future conflict?
 
The world is becoming a more dangerous place. Since the fall of Kabul and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US-led liberal international order is giving way to a more chaotic, contested and multipolar world system. Western credibility and deterrence are diminishing in the face of wars in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and rising populism and terrorism around the world. Can peace, mutual respect and democracy survive, or are we destined to a new permanent chaos in which authoritarians and populists thrive?
 
Based on their decades of experience as policy advisors in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia and across Africa, and on recent fieldwork in Israel, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Taiwan, the authors analyse the nature of modern war, considering both large-scale, high-intensity state-on-state conflicts as well as limited-objective, irregular, low-intensity conflicts that often include both inter- and intra-state dimensions.
 
The book investigates how technology can be a leveller for small powers against larger aggressors; how one can shape and sustain a viable narrative to ensure public and international support; the balance between self-reliance and alliance commitment; and the role of leadership, intelligence, diplomacy and economic assistance.
 
Weighing up past lessons, present observations and predictions about the future, The Art of War and Peace explores how wars can be won on the battlefield and how that success can be translated into a stable and enduring peace.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.`Opportunities multiply as they are seized.'Written in the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise that is still revered today as the ultimate commentary on war and military strategy. Focussing on the principle that one can outsmart your foe mentally by thinking very carefully about strategy before resorting to physical battle, this philosophy continues to be applied to the corporate and business world.Sun Tzu's timeless appraisal of the different aspects of warfare are laid out in 13 chapters, including sections on `Laying Plans', `Waging War' and `Terrain'. Words that are as resonant today in every aspect of our lives as they were when he wrote them.

When is it right to go to war? The most persuasive answer to this question has always been 'in self-defense'. In a penetrating new analysis, bringing together moral philosophy, political science, and law, David Rodin shows what's wrong with this answer. He proposes a comprehensive new theory of the right of self-defense which resolves many of the perplexing questions that have dogged both jurists and philosophers.

Special Forces are a key component of every modern army, capable of carrying out clandestine operations, reconnaissance, and incisive attacks behind enemy lines. Units such as the British SAS, US Navy SEALs, the US Army’s Delta Force, Polish GROM and the France’s National Gendarmerie Intervention Group are famous for their bravery and formidable record. Aircraft are a key element of their functionality, without which Special Forces would not be able to move quickly to the combat zone. Arranged into chapters divided by transports, gunships, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the book includes the AC-130H gunship, which can be armed with weapons such as the M61 Vulcan rotary cannon and can destroy ground targets from a range of 2,000 metres; the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which can land large numbers of men and material in tight spaces because of its STOL capabilities; the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin II, used by the British Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) for the insertion of small units behind enemy lines; and the Mil Mi- 171Sh Storm rotorcraft, used by the Russian Spetsnaz commandos for operations in difficult terrain. Illustrated with 140 photographs and artworks, Aircraft of the Special Forces is a dynamic guide to the specialist aircraft and UAVs deployed by Special Forces throughout the world today.

Over the last 20 years, the role of unmanned aircraft systems in modern warfare has grown at an unprecedented rate. No longer simply used for intelligence, data collection or reconnaissance, drones are routinely used for target acquisition and to strike enemy targets with missiles and bombs. Organized by nationality, Military Drones offers a compact guide to the main unmanned aerial vehicles being flown in combat zones today. These include classics, such as the MQ-1 Predator, primarily used for intelligence gathering; the Black Hornet Nano, a micro UAV that is so small it can fit in the palm of your hand and is used by ground troops for local situational awareness; the Chinese tri-copter Scorpion, which is ideal for the stationary observation and strike role in a built-up area; and the French EADS Talarion, a twinjet long-endurance UAV designed for high-altitude surveillance. Illustrated with more than 100 photographs and artworks, Military Drones provides a detailed insight into the specialist military unmanned aerial vehicles that play a key role in the modern battle space.

A brilliantly original exploration of our obsession with the end of the world, from Mary Shelley’s The Last Man to the Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go.

For two millennia, Christians have anticipated the end of the world, haunted by the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Revelation. But over the past two centuries, these dark fantasies have given way to secular stories of how the world, our planet, or our species (or all of the above) might be annihilated.

In Everything Must Go – a cultural history of the modern world that weaves together politics, history, science, high and popular culture – Dorian Lynskey explores the endings that we have read, listened to, or watched, while perched on the edge of our seats with eyes wide, (mostly) loving every moment.

Whether with visions of destruction by nuclear holocaust or a mighty collision with a meteor, a devastating epidemic or a violent takeover by robots, why do we like to scare ourselves, and why do we keep coming back for more?

Deeply illuminating about our past, our present and – given the revelation that the end of the world has seemingly always been nigh – hopeful about our future, Everything Must Go will grip you from beginning to, well, end.

From bestselling author Robert Greene comes a new guide to the strategies of war that can help us gain mastery in the modern world. Spanning world civilisations, and synthesising dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts, The Concise 33 Strategies of War is a guide to the subtle social game of everyday life. Based on profound and timeless lessons, it is abundantly illustrated with examples of the genius and folly of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher and Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as diplomats, captains of industry and Samurai swordsmen.

How robots will change our world Some fear that robots could do half our jobs and even wipe us out. But is that likely? Smart machines already make our cars and clean our homes. Soon they could drive us about, teach our children, and keep our parents company. While dealing with the ethical concerns about Artificial Intelligence, Bennie Mols and Nieske Vergunst reveal the history, present and future of robots. They show how moving AI could allow the lame to walk again, rescue survivors from collapsed buildings, and boost the global fight against hunger and pollution. Welcome to a vivid view of our robot future. With 60 colour photos. Topics From dolls to industrial workers, a history of robots How robots respond to their surroundings What robots learn about human speech Why self-driving cars are safer and greener The possibilities of robots in education Meet the 'cyborgs' who learn to walk again Why evolution designs the best robots Will rogue robots take over the world? Using robots as weapons and drones What the future holds: 2100, a Robot Odyssey Table of Contents 1 A short history of robots, from dolls to androids Machines as man throughout history Mechanical dolls: forerunners of the robot Enter the working humanoid robots The next step: android robots that look like you Uncanny valley: the problem with creepy robots 2. How do robots see their surroundings? Getting to grips with a new environment Seeing through the eyes of a robot Training robots to recognise objects Robots can see what a person cannot see Feeling with whiskers: sensing the way forward Robots use electronic ears to listen 3. How does a robot brain work? A robot must learn to think like a human Keeping it simple with an insect brain Machine learning is trial and error Robots can learn without supervision The football world cup for robots Developing robot emotional intelligence 4. Giving humans a helping hand Robots suck: doing the dirty jobs at home A robotic arm reaches deep into the supply chain Joseph Engelberger, father of car factory robots Co-bots will work alongside people Coping with variation is Amazon's challenge Building a robot car 5. Learning to speak to people The problem with machine talk SHRDLU! The first experiment in robot conversation Toilets are hidden: translation problems A robotic teacher never runs out of patience 6. Robots get emotional Emotional robots encourage humans to interact with them A robot can work out how you are feeling Why am I afraid? Understanding human emotions Help! My robot looks angry Establishing a bond with a robot 7. Humans need robots and robots need humans Meet the robot psychologists Under-promise and over-deliver performance Silicon Valley utopias vs calm technology What is the best ratio of robots to humans? In the rubble: the search and rescue robot The paradox of robotization 8. Humans need robots and robots need humans Meet the robot psychologists Under-promise and over-deliver performance * Silicon Valley utopias vs calm technology What is the best ratio of robots to humans? In the rubble: the search and rescue robot The paradox of robotization 9. Evolution designs the best robots How robots travel in a bumpy world Robothand has nature's grip A two-legged walking robot The first robot baby Working out the best path through evolution 10. Swarming robots show the wisdom of crowds The power of robots working together A robot swarm without a boss Goal is mapping a building about to collapse Predicting how a robot will behave Robot swarms in the real world A robotic swarm looks for a queen 11. The importance of building ethical robots Isaac Asimov's three rules about rogue robots When robots go wrong Responsible roboticists are planning for the future Robots and the UN's development goals How will robots change the human race? Killing machines: robots in the military 12. 2100 - A Robot Odyssey The future of work in a robotic world Fusing mind and body with soft robotics And then the smart robot became creative Was that move really creative? Will robots really take over the world?

While researching for my book about the Indian Air Force Himalayan Eagle - The Story of the Indian Air Force, I came across some very interesting details about the military/warrior traditions of India that seemed at odds with the general image of a country thought to be spiritual and pacifist - the Buddha and "Mahatma" Gandhi immediately spring to mind in this context. The details were intriguing enough for me to embark upon another ambitious project - to gather together and collate the data available on this Indian warrior tradition and its resurgence in modern-day India. This work is the presentation of certain pertinent details that are available in the open sources but told in a comprehensive, objective and readable form so that an interested reader gains a better understanding of India's little-known martial and warrior history! It is a narrative of the warrior/military traditions of India going back to its pre-Vedic roots and covers the birth of the Indian warrior caste, the Kshatriyas. How these warriors dominated among the empire builders, and how their pre-eminence was superseded by civilian rule, a change in the political scene of India that was to have ramifications from the 10th to 20th century CE. The title chosen for this work may confuse those readers who are aware that the emperor Ashoka eschewed violence for pacificism as a Buddhist. The lions in the title refer to the four represented on the Ashoka pillars at Sarnath, each facing to the points of the compass and which are symbolic of the present-day warriors of the country, the Indian armed forces, guarding against intrusions from any point.

Some of our most fundamental moral rules are violated by the practices of torture and war. If one examines the concrete forms these practices take, can the exceptions to the rules necessary to either torture or war be justified? Fighting Hurt brings together key essays by Henry Shue on the issue of torture, and relatedly, the moral challenges surrounding the initiation and conduct of war, and features a new introduction outlining the argument of the essays, putting them into context, and describing how and in what ways his position has modified over time. The first six chapters marshal arguments that have been refined over 35 years for the conclusion that torture can never be justified in any actual circumstances whatsoever. The practice of torture has nothing significant in common with the ticking bomb scenario often used in its defence, and weak U.S. statutes have loop-holes for psychological torture of the kind now favoured by CIA in the 'war against terrorism'. The other sixteen chapters maintain that for as long as wars are in fact fought, it is morally urgent to limit specific destructive practices that cannot be prohibited. Two possible exceptions to the UN Charter's prohibition on all but defensive wars, humanitarian military intervention and preventive war to eliminate WMD, are evaluated; and one possible exception to the principle of discrimination, Michael Walzer's 'supreme emergency', is sharply criticized. Two other fundamental issues about the rules for the conduct of war receive extensive controversial treatment. The first is the rules to limit the bombing of dual-use infrastructure, with a focus on alternative interpretations of the principle of proportionality that limits 'collateral damage'. The second is the moral status of the laws of war as embodied in International Humanitarian Law. It is argued that the current philosophical critique of IHL by Jeff McMahan focused on individual moral liability to attack is an intellectual dead-end and that the morally best rules are international laws that are the same for all fighters. Examining real cases, including U.S. bombing of Iraq in 1991, the Clinton Administration decision not to intervene in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, and CIA torture after 9/11 and its alternatives, this book is highly accessible to general readers who are interested in the ethical status of American political life, especially foreign policy.

Examines the recent rise in the United States' use of preventive force More so than in the past, the US is now embracing the logic of preventive force: using military force to counter potential threats around the globe before they have fully materialized. While popular with individuals who seek to avoid too many "boots on the ground," preventive force is controversial because of its potential for unnecessary collateral damage. Who decides what threats are 'imminent'? Is there an international legal basis to kill or harm individuals who have a connection to that threat? Do the benefits of preventive force justify the costs? And, perhaps most importantly, is the US setting a dangerous international precedent? In Preventive Force, editors Kerstin Fisk and Jennifer Ramos bring together legal scholars, political scientists, international relations scholars, and prominent defense specialists to examine these questions, whether in the context of full-scale preventive war or preventive drone strikes. In particular, the volume highlights preventive drones strikes, as they mark a complete transformation of how the US understands international norms regarding the use of force, and could potentially lead to a 'slippery slope' for the US and other nations in terms of engaging in preventive warfare as a matter of course. A comprehensive resource that speaks to the contours of preventive force as a security strategy as well as to the practical, legal, and ethical considerations of its implementation, Preventive Force is a useful guide for political scientists, international relations scholars, and policymakers who seek a thorough and current overview of this essential topic.

There are many histories of how wars have begun, but very few which discuss how they have ended. This book fills that gap. Beginning with the Stone Age and ending with globalized terrorism, it addresses the specific issue of surrender, rather than the subsequent establishment of peace. At its heart is the individual warrior or soldier, and his or her decision to lay down arms. In the ancient world surrender led in most cases to slavery, but a slave still lived rather than died. In the modern world international law gives the soldiers rights as prisoners of war, and those rights include the prospect of their eventual return home. But individuals can surrender at any point in a war, and without having such an effect that they end the war. The termination of hostilities depends on a collective act for its consequences to be decisive. It also requires the enemy to accept the offer to surrender in the midst of combat. In other words, like so much else in war, surrender depends on reciprocity - on the readiness of one side to stop fighting and of the other to accept that readiness. This volume argues that surrender is the single biggest contributor to the containment of violence in warfare, offering the vanquished the opportunity to survive and the victor the chance to show moderation and magnanimity. Since the rules of surrender have developed over time, they form a key element in understanding the cultural history of warfare.

The horror of war and its profound impact on children are presented dramatically in the DEGREESIEncyclopedia of Youth and War. DEGREESR This unique encyclopedia offers behind-the-scenes accounts of how young people were both victims of and participants in wars of the 20th century and before.

This second part of a two-volume series examines in detail the financing of America's major wars from the Spanish-American War to the Vietnam War. It interweaves analyses of political policy, military strategy and operations, and war finance and economic mobilization with examinations of the events of America's major armed conflicts, offering useful case studies for students of military history and spending policy, policymakers, military comptrollers, and officers in training.

Blending detailed contextual analysis with issues in modern-day international relations this book provides a major new analysis of the theory of Clausewitz and its relevance to contemporary society. This book argues that Clausewitz developed a wide-ranging political theory of war by reflecting on the success, the limitations, and the failure of Napoleon's method of waging war, a theory, which is still relevant in light of contemporary conflict. This new interpretation is the result of reflecting on Clausewitz's theory in light of the new developments and lays down the foundation of a general theory of war by concentrating on Clausewitz's historical analyses of war campaigns. For the first time analysis of three paradigmatic military campaigns is placed at the centre of understanding surrounding Clausewitz's 'On War': The author argues that the limitations of Napoleon's strategy, as revealed in Russia and in his final defeat, enabled Clausewitz to develop a general theory of war. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.

For centuries, the world has witnessed the development and use of increasingly complex and powerful military systems and technologies. In the process, the "art of war" has truly become the art of combined arms warfare, in which infantry, artillery, air support, intelligence, and other key elements are all coordinated for maximum effect. Nowhere has this trend been more visible than in the history of twentieth-century warfare.

Originally published as an essential "in-house" study for U.S. Army officers during the 1980s, this much revised and expanded edition remains the most complete study available on the subject. Rewritten with a much wider readership in mind, it both retains its enormous practical utility for military professionals and provides a valuable and appealing introduction for scholars and general readers.

Jonathan House, author of the original work, brings the story of combined arms up to the present, covering among other things Desert Storm, the war in Chechnya, and the rise of "smart weapons" and related technologies. He traces the evolution of tactics, weapons, and organization in five major militaries -- American, British, German, Russian, and French -- over 100 years of warfare. Revealing both continuities and contrasts within and between these fighting forces, he also provides illuminating glimpses of Israeli and Japanese contributions to combined arms doctrine. Expanding his insightful analysis of the world wars and the wars in Korea and Vietnam, House also offers much new material focused on the post-Vietnam period. Throughout, he analyzes such issues as command-and-control, problems of highly centralized organizations, the development of special operationsforces, advances in weapons technology -- including ballistic and anti-ballistic missile systems -- the trade-offs involved in using "heavy" versus "light" armed forces, and the enduring obstacles to effective cooperation between air and land forces. (His strong critique of the "air superiority" propaganda that came out of the Gulf War is sure to spark some heated debates.)

Rigorously comparative, House's study addresses significant questions about how nations prepare for war, learn or don't learn its harsh lessons, and adapt to changing times and technologies. Unique in the annals of the literature on warfare, it will be the standard work on this subject for a long time to come.

This book argues that understanding truces is crucial for our ability to wind down wars. We have paid too much attention to the idea of permanent peace, yet few conflicts end in this way. The book describes how truce makers think, which truces can be morally justified and provides a philosophical history of truce making in the Western tradition.