The 1964 comedy film Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb has achieved cult and now iconic status in popular culture. It is also the flagship of an entire genre of Cold War nuclear crisis films, which is employed in numerous academic disciplines to depict what many view as the prime absurdity of the Cold War: nuclear deterrence and its possible failure. The films of the Cold War nuclear crisis genre are regularly used by educators to illustrate nuclear warfare theories of the time. However, the further we get away from those dangerous years, the more art takes over from life/history/reality. There were (and remain) layers of absurdity in places like the RAND Corporation and in other "think tanks." However, those who also served should get their due. And Dr. Strangelove does not give it to them. Dr. Strangelove, Fail-Safe, The Bedford Incident, and others are about the internal and external failures of the deterrent system. That system did not fail in real life. Why is that? How is that? Can we use Dr. Strangelove and related films as vehicles to help us understand the answers to those questions? What was really going on in that secretive world? Answering those questions was impossible in the 1970s. Years after the end of the Cold War, we have much better insight. And now we can know.

Emergency War Plan examines the theory and practice of nuclear deterrence and its emergence during the Cold War. The language that evolved around deterrence in the 1940s and 1950s was not diplomatic-speak. It was technological and operational and carefully chosen to establish and maintain credibility. The opposition had to see that a threat was credible. That meant aircraft, bombs, missiles, command and control facilities, planning, and exercises. Yet examinations of nuclear strategy during this time were, for the most part, pigeonholed as “Massive Retaliation” and “Mutually Assured Destruction,” conveniently summed up as “MAD.” These declaratory descriptors themselves evolved into slogans, and any serious discussion of them faded. Slogans mask the complex nature of concepts and situations and allow dismissal or mockery, as in the film Dr. Strangelove. It's possible that the secret elements of the deterrence enterprise made public understanding difficult, if not impossible. The whole picture was not available then, but now, with the declassification of nuclear war strategies, it may be discernible. Emergency War Plan draws on and even challenges the prevailing view on what intelligence was available so that Strategic Air Command could carry out its mission. Sean Maloney examines the relationship of nuclear weapons to their targets and even draws on newly released weapons effects information along with new information about Soviet capabilities. He highlights how the process was supposed to work and where it might not have worked. Ultimately what emerges is a gargantuan and potentially devastating enterprise that was only understood by the public at the time in very general terms.

Within hours of the September 11 attacks, Sean M. Maloney deciphered that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were the aggressors behind the despicable act. A war in Afghanistan then was inevitable. As a military historian, Maloney was determined to go there to study and record the events for posterity, if for no other reason than the education of his future students at Canada's Royal Military College.What resulted is an in-depth and up-close look at the planning stages, deployment, and aftermath of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In "Enduring the Freedom," Maloney presents a rare on-the-spot view from such important locations as Kabul, Bagram, and Kandahar. He describes the American-led intervention in Afghanistan and the conduct of the war through early 2003, then discusses the events of 2003 from the three locales in detail.Some critics contend that the war in Afghanistan is another Vietnam. Maloney rebuts that appraisal, pointing out that as opposed to the vague language of the Vietnam era, American objectives were clearly stated for Afghanistan. Those objectives were: to destroy al Qaeda's networks, training camps, resources, and communication systems; to destroy any governmental entity providing support or sanctuary to al Qaeda; and to undertake reconstruction efforts to ensure international terrorists can never again use the country as a base. The first objective has more or less been achieved. How to accomplish the last two is still widely debated, and Maloney offers some insightful thoughts and opinions. Finally, he offers educated advice going forward in the hopeful completion of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In the late 1990s, NATO initiated KFOR, the militarized peacekeeping force charged with stabilizing Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for displaced persons and refugees after the genocide and other numerous atrocities carried out during the Balkan conflicts. Operation KINETIC is a not only a history of the origins and operations of the Kosovo Force, it is also a history of the vital Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Civil-Military Cooperation operations conducted by the Canadian Army units assigned to KFOR during the crucial early days and months after entry into the province in 1999-2000. Operating alongside American, British, French, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish forces, these surveillance and response units were instrumental in preventing violence in numerous areas before it could escalate and draw in the Serbian Army, which could have led to another war in the region. Sean Maloney, a Canadian military historian with extensive field experience in the Balkans, draws upon numerous interviews and first-hand accounts of an operation that would later serve as a model in preparing for similar efforts in Afghanistan and provide a blueprint for possible future stabilization operations around the world.

This book presents a detailed picture of the complex and difficult process the US Navy and its NATO allies faced in devising the NATO naval command structure, and explores NATO's place today in the realignment of nations.