In the aftermath of 9/11, the potential terror of weapons of
mass destruction--from nuclear, biological, and chemical to dirty
bombs--preoccupies national security experts. In "Chemical
Warfare," Frederic J. Brown, presents a cogent, innovative
framework for understanding the historical forces that have
restrained the use of WMD and how they continue to have relevance
today. Analyzing both world wars, he argues that the restraints on
use were complex and often unpredictable and ranged from the
political to the technological.
The author offers a detailed examination of American chemical
warfare policy as it was shaped by industry and public sentiment,
as well as national and military leaders. The organization of the
book into three parts reflects the importance of battlefield
experiences during the First World War and of international
political restraints as they evolved during the interwar years and
culminated in "no first use" policies by major powers in World War
II. Part I examines the use of chemical weapons in World War I as
it influenced subsequent national policy decisions. Part II focuses
on the evolution of political, military, economic, and
psychological restraints from 1919 to 1939. Part III discusses
World War II during two critical periods: 1939 to early 1942, when
the environment of the war was being established largely without
American influence; and during 1945, when the United States faced
no credible threat of retaliation to deter its strategic and
battlefield use of chemical weapons. Written at the height of
controversy about the U.S. use of chemicals in Vietnam, "Chemical
Warfare" offers a valuable historical perspective, as relevant now
in its analysis of chemical and also nuclear policy as it was when
first published.
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