Terrorism and world security
In his essay, Kenneth Waltz, a keen and articulate champion of nuclear deterrence, looks at the way that recent theories of "minimum deterrence" have failed to capture the imagination of policy-makers:"If the leaders of states cannot be persuaded that small numbers [of nuclear weapons] are sufficient for deterrence, then surely they cannot be persuaded to go all the way to having no actual weapons at all. terrorism and world security Pictures of terrorism. " In fact, he says, a VNA regime would be dangerously "rickety. " Virtual nuclear deterrence would not work; only an assured, ready-to-use second-strike capability truly deters others. In the long run, a VNA regime would make war more likely, not less. terrorism and world security Immigration terrorism. Michael Mazarr does not stack the deck in Nuclear Weapons in a Transformed World. A single book, he notes, "cannot answer all the questions surrounding a scheme as complicated, as different from current ways of doing business, as virtual arsenals. " Rather, the purpose of the book's essays is not to reach a final judgment; but to "identify the key issues" and to "ask the right questions. terrorism and world security Possible-terrorist-attacks. "Mazarr achieves those twin goals, and he does it with intellectual grace and admirable fairness. Mike Moore is editor of the Bulletin. The Eleventh Plague: ThePolitics of Biological and Chemical WarfareBy Leonard A. ColeW. H. Freeman, 1997284 pages; $22. 95 Review by Barry KellmanIn our fiercest nightmares, the mushroom cloud has been joined by invisible aerosols: chemical and biological weapons. High scientific arts, capable of making us healthier and wealthier, have been cruelly turned to the business of murder. Germs and poisons offer mass death on the cheap, without disturbing buildings and machines. These are primal terrors that we ignore at our peril. The Eleventh Plague, by Leonard Cole, a political scientist at Rutgers University, offers valuable information for readers otherwise immune to the incessant discussions of chemical and biological weapons (CBW). The many policy issues raised by efforts to rein in these threats are engrossingly presented by Cole--with anecdotes and insights into some of the more notable personalities involved. The book stimulates further inquiry. Part I explores some historical and ethical dimensions of the "eleventh plague," a play on words rooted in the ten plagues inflicted upon Egypt according to the Book of Exodus. Cole recounts the terrifying yet crudely amateurish Pentagon programs of the early Cold War, demonstrating the government's carelessness regarding the physical containment of deadly agents as well as its willingness to disregard the moral ramifications of producing disease and poison. These chronicles deserve attention. No one can reasonably dispute that these programs were an abomination, but it would have been interesting to learn of the attitudes of those who pursued them. If Cole had speculated on what motivated military planners to cultivate poisons and disease, it might have helped us understand how to avert such decisions in the future. To be sure, Cole urges "fostering a culture of antipathy" toward such weapons programs, but antipathy should be combined with empowerment. Difficult policy questions must be confronted if we are to compel amoral (or worse) leaders to shun chemical and biological weapons. Among the policy questions: How realistic is the possibility that chemical or biological weaponry will be used on the conventional battlefield? Is its use by terrorists or criminals more likely? Based on the severity of the threat, what level of national or international response would be appropriate?Perhaps most pointedly, while some preparations necessary to respond to a future CBW attack entail testing protective suits and antitoxins, the knowledge gained from these tests could be used offensively as well as defensively. Cole correctly condemns testing on unwitting victims, but what of the ethics of continuing defense preparations involving informed participants?Part II offers lessons from Iraq-- must-reading for those unfamiliar with the details of the Iraqi program and especially how its development was assisted by the United States and its allies in the 1980s. This story ought to be taught to every schoolchild: How greed wedded to a myopic zeal to arm the enemy of our enemy drove the Reagan administration (among others) to feed Saddam Hussein's appetite for catastrophic weapons. Nearly as despicably, when Iraq actually used those capabilities against Iran and then against the Iraqi Kurds, the United States led the world in not responding, thereby laying the moral foundation for tolerance of iniquity. Readers who are already deeply preoccupied with CBW questions, however, may find Cole's discussion of Iraq to be a bit prosaic. Of course, Iraq has been a boon to a battalion of international security experts--proof positive that the worst of human proclivities, combined with vast wealth and sophisticated technical proficiency, can pose a catastrophic threat to anyone within reach of its missiles.
Terrorism and world security
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