The U.S. Military's Quest for ''Useable'' Weapons
This book addresses an important but little-noticed phenomenon in the revolutionary world of military technology. Across a wide range of otherwise-unrelated weapons programs, the Pentagon is now pursuing arms that are deliberately crafted to be less powerful, less deadly, and less destructive than the systems they are designed to supplement or replace. This direction is historically anomalous; military forces generally pursue ever-bigger bangs, but the modern conditions of counter-insurgency...
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This book addresses an important but little-noticed phenomenon in the revolutionary world of military technology. Across a wide range of otherwise-unrelated weapons programs, the Pentagon is now pursuing arms that are deliberately crafted to be less powerful, less deadly, and less destructive than the systems they are designed to supplement or replace. This direction is historically anomalous; military forces generally pursue ever-bigger bangs, but the modern conditions of counter-insurgency warfare and military operations "other than war" (such as peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance) demand a military capable of modulated force. By providing a capacity to intervene deftly yet effectively, the new generations of "useable" weaponry should enable the U.S. military to accomplish its demanding missions in a manner consistent with legal obligations, public relations realities, and political constraints. Five case studies are provided, regarding precision-guided "smart bombs," low-yield nuclear weapons, self-neutralizing anti-personnel land mines, directed-energy anti-satellite weapons, and non-lethal weapons.
Preface ixAcknowledgments xviiAbbreviations and Acronyms xix1 Revolutionary Weapons and Transformed War 12 Deterrence and Self-Deterrence 283 The Law of Armed Conflict 554 Precision-Guided Munitions 795 Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons 1046 Smart Antipersonnel Land Mines 1327 Antisatellite Weapons 1508 Nonlethal Weapons 1889 What to Do about Useability 216Index 259
