The deadly May 31, 2010 Gaza flotilla incident has been misunderstood. This book explores the incident in more detail than mainstream media coverage has allowed-explaining the background, key players, and the incident itself-enriched by the authors having had unique access to senior Israeli officials in the immediate aftermath of the event. The incident is a microcosm of the struggle between terrorism and democratic societies, and raises a number of legal, ethical, and strategic political issues in the contemporary Middle East. Chapters address the political and military scenario preceding the incident, key state and non-state actors involved, military and ethical dimensions of the operation, and the aftermath in the media and politics. The book provides thoughtful and readable analysis that is useful to policy makers and to the general public, and draws some important conclusions for the continuing conflict between democratic states and terrorists and their sponsors.

The current era has seen more rapid and extensive change than any time in human history. The profusion of information and the explosion of information technology is the driver, reshaping all aspects of social, political, cultural, and economic life. The effects of the information revolution are particularly profound in the realm of national security strategy. They are creating new opportunities for those who master them. The U.S. military, for instance, is exploring ways to seize information superiority during conflicts and thus gain decisive advantages over its opponents. But the information revolution also creates new security threats and vulnerabilities. No nation has made more effective use of the information revolution than the United States, but none is more dependent on information technology. To protect American security, then, military leaders and defense policymakers must understand the information revolution. The essays in this volume are intended to contribute to such an understanding. They grew from a December 1999 conference co-sponsored by the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute and the University of Pittsburgh Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies. The conference brought together some of the foremost members of the academic strategic studies community with representatives of the U.S. Government and U.S. military. As could be expected when examining a topic as complex as the relationship between the information revolution and national security, the presentations and discussions were far-ranging, covering such issues as the global implications of the information revolution, the need for a national information security strategy, and therole of information in U.S. military operations. While many more questions than answers emerged, the conference did suggest some vital tasks that military leaders and defense policymakers must undertake. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer the essays as part of the vital national debate over the changing nature of security in the information age. Douglas C. Lovelace, Jr. Director, Strategic Studies Institute