Winning the War: Advanced Weapons, Strategies, and Concepts for the Post-9/11 World - Hardcover

Alexander Ph.D., John B.; Alexander, Ph.D., John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031230675X ISBN 13: 9780312306755

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003

Synopsis

Twenty-second century historians will note that a new World War began on 9/11/2001. In reality, it began much earlier. Competing value systems and the lust for natural resources will precipitate an inevitable clash of civilizations. Currently, we face elusive foes-foes who play by other rules-and in fact, we are already engaged in brutal, truly asymmetric conflict with varied forms of fighting; terrorism is but an isolated part.

The increasing number of polymorphic hostilities requires revolutionary and unconventional responses. Special operations are the norm. Nanoscale, biological, and digital technologies have transformed how we fight future wars. Tactical lasers that zap pinpoint targets at twenty kilometers are being developed, as is the millimeter-wave Active Denial System that causes intense pain to those exposed. The "Mother of all Bombs" has been dropped, as have thermobaric weapons that destroy caves and bunkers. Robots roam the battlefield while exotic sensors catalogue nearly every facet of our lives. Paralyzing electrical shock weapons are in the hands of police. Even phasers on stun are closer than you think.

Winning the War details the technologies and concepts necessary to ultimately determine the outcome of this global conflict. Via realistic scenarios from recovering tourists kidnapped by terrorists, to bringing down drug cartels in the Amazon, and even preventing Armageddon in the Middle East, Winning the War provides an insider's view into how these futuristic weapons will be used and into the complexities of modern warfare. Bold and controversial measures are prescribed, including the essential nature of absolute domination of space. Winning the War makes clear that drastic and innovative actions will be necessary to ensure our national survival.

About this title

About the Author

Colonel John B. Alexander's extensive military experience includes commanding Green Berets in Vietnam as well as conducting research and development in advanced weapons. He developed the concept of Non-Lethal Defense at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and his work has brought him into contact with the Director of Central Intelligence and members of Congress, White House, and National Security Council staff. As NATO became interested, he served as a US representative on three international studies. He is currently the science director for a private research organization in Las Vegas and a consultant to CINC US Special Operations and is a member of the National Research Council Committee for Assessment of Non-Lethal Weapons Science and Technology.

Reviews

A former Vietnam Green Beret commander and developer of "non-lethal defense" at Los Alamos, retired Army Colonel Alexander argues that too much emphasis has been placed on developing the mass killing power of modern weapons. He makes a predictable alternative case for developing a spectrum of nonlethal technologies, not merely unmanned aerial vehicles and sensors able to penetrate solid obstacles, but face recognizers and brain scanners as well. He advocates synergizing these tools with a new generation of lethal technologies based on "things small and smart," especially robotic systems that will replace humans in such high-risk missions as mine clearing and security patrolling. According to Alexander, in future conflicts these high-tech methods will increasingly be juxtaposed with techniques as old as warfare itself. He cites post-September 11 operations in Afghanistan, where precision-guided bombs supported cavalry charges, then segues into a series of hypothetical future scenarios ranging from a hostage situation in Nepal to major conflicts in the Middle East. While Alexander offers one scenario in which an "obliging enemy" fights a tactically conventional battle and is easily destroyed, he takes pains to demonstrate that America's future wars are most likely to be asymmetric. In the book's final hundred pages, Alexander recommends eviscerating terrorist funding, developing media as a strategic weapon and using precision weapons to target terrorists' families, but predicts an increase in the level and success of terrorist activity to a point where an outraged citizenry calls for massive retaliation with no clear target in sight; Alexander obliges with a series of even more apocalyptic recommendations for winning "World War X." Connections to political and social realities may be tenuous-but no one can accuse him of unwillingness to think outside the box.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

One of the key developers of nonlethal weapons here studies the use of such weapons in the war against terrorism. Some of those instruments, such as air-dropped fiber nets that short out power grids, have already been employed in Iraq. Some not exactly nonlethal counterparts have also been used, such as the high-intensity, thermobaric heat weapons used for cave busting in Afghanistan. As well as weapons per se, Alexander discusses some tactics that aren't weapons in the traditional sense, such as bribery (useful in kleptocracies) and spreading disinformation through not only the formal media but also the Web. Alexander shows genuine but mature enthusiasm for the new range of tactics and strategy, and he is aware that, in the long run, sound political solutions are necessary. In the shorter run, we seem to be approaching the capability of defense without inflicting horrendous and destabilizing casualties on opponents, even if we think they deserve them! Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031230675X
• ISBN 13: 9780312306755
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288