Defense Issues

An insider's account of America's ineffectual approach to some of the hardest defense and intelligence issues in the three decades since the Cold War ended. Insanity can be defined as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. As a nation, America has cycled through the same defense and intelligence issues since the end of the Cold War. In Insanity Defense, Congresswoman Jane Harman chronicles how four administrations have failed to confront some of the toughest national security policy issues and suggests achievable fixes that can move us toward a safer future. The reasons for these inadequacies are varied and complex, in some cases going back generations. American leaders didn’t realize soon enough that the institutions and habits formed during the Cold War were no longer effective in an increasingly multi-power world transformed by digital technology and riven by ethno-sectarian conflict. Nations freed from the fear of the Soviets no longer deferred to America as before. Yet the United States settled into a comfortable, at times arrogant, position as the lone superpower. At the same time our governing institutions, which had stayed resilient, however imperfectly, through multiple crises, began their own unraveling. Congresswoman Harman was there—as witness, legislator, exhorter, enabler, dissident and, eventually, outside advisor and commentator. Insanity Defense is an insider’s account of decades of American national security—of its failures and omissions—and a roadmap to making significant progress on solving these perennially difficult issues.

Whether it's guns and ammunition or multidimensional anti-terrorism systems, the defense industry is dynamic, complex, and ubiquitous. It is also mysterious, powerful, and controversial, involving thousands of players worldwide—from suppliers and producers to government and military procurers to shadowy figures that trade in the black market. This comprehensive, two-volume reference will explore, on a global scale, the various issues, concepts, problems, and controversies surrounding the rise of the modern defense industry. Unparalleled in its scope and insight, The Modern Defense Industry will prove invaluable to the industry's critics and champions alike. The phenomenon of a more-or-less permanent defense industry—especially one so wide in scale, breadth (air, sea, land, and space), technology, and geography—is still relatively new. Until now, its implications for politics, economics, and technology have not been adequately discussed in an authoritative, accessible format for scholars and researchers, business people, journalists, policymakers, and interested laymen. The Modern Defense Industry addresses the period from 1945 to the present, covering the United States, Europe, Russia, China, Israel, and other important arms-producing and arms-procuring countries. Including essays by experts from around the world, a glossary, data on firms and governments, laws and policies, primary documents, case studies, and a host of other elements, this set will be a unique resource for anyone interested in the arms industry. It will also offer penetrating insights into topics like international relations and diplomacy, arms proliferation, and contemporary politics. Volume I comprises chapters by experts in the field on topics like the relationship between the industry, military, and government; how new modes of warfare are changing the industry; the implications of globalization on the industry; the black and gray areas of the arms trade; and much more. Volume II features an extensive A-Z glossary of terms, lists of defense firms and government agencies, annotated primary documents, lists of leading defense contractors and key weapons systems, an analysis of key legislation, and professional organizations. The Modern Defense Industry sets the standard for state of the art overviews of an industry that has, for better or worse, come to infuse nearly every aspect of world affairs in the early twenty-first century.

The image of farmers and workers called to the colours endures in Canada’s social memory of the First World War. But is the ideal of being a citizen first and a soldier only by necessity as recent as our histories and memories suggest? Militia Myths brings to light a military culture that consistently employed the citizen soldier as its foremost symbol, but was otherwise in a state of profound transition. At the time of Confederation, the defence of Canada itself represented the country’s only real obligation to the British Empire, but by the early twentieth century Canadians were already fighting an imperial war in South Africa. In 1914, they began raising an army to fight on the Western Front. By the end of the First World War, the ideological transition was complete: for better or for worse, the untrained civilian who had answered the call-to-arms in 1914 replaced the long-serving volunteer militiaman of the past as the archetypical Canadian citizen soldier. Militia Myths traces the evolution of a uniquely Canadian amateur military tradition -- one that has had an enormous impact on the country’s experience of the First and Second World Wars. Published in association with the Canadian War Museum.

Defense forces have always invested a great deal of their resources in training. In recent times, changes in the complexity and intensity of operations have reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that warfighters are adequately prepared for the environments in which they are required to work. The emergence of new operational drivers such as asymmetric threats, urban operations, joint and coalition operations and the widespread use of military communications and information technology networks has highlighted the importance of providing warfighters with the competencies required to act in a coordinated, adaptable fashion, and to make effective decisions in environments characterized by large amounts of sometimes ambiguous information. While investment in new technologies can make available new opportunities for action, it is only through effective training that personnel can be made ready to apply their tools in the most decisive and discriminating fashion. There are many factors which can have an impact on the efficacy of training and many issues to consider when designing and implementing training strategies. These issues are often complex and nuanced, and in order to grasp them fully a significant investment of time and energy is required. However, the requirement to respond quickly to ever-changing technology, a high operational tempo and minimal staffing may preclude many in today's defense forces from seeking out all such resources on their own. This edited collection provides brief, easy-to-understand summaries of the key issues in defense training and simulation, as well as guidance for further reading. It consists of a collection of short essays, each of which addresses a fundamental issue in defense training and simulation, and features an up-to-date reference list to enable the reader to undertake further investigation of the issues addressed. In essence, this book provides the optimum starting point, or first resource, for readers to come to terms with the important issues associated with defense training and simulation. The contributions are written by leading scholars from military research institutions in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as selected researchers from academic and private sector research institutions.

From "the big four" (abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, and stem-cell research) to war, poverty, and the environment, this timely book considers religion's impact on moral debates in America's past and present. James Calvin Davis argues for religion's potential to enrich both the content and the civility of public conversation. This book will interest all concerned citizens yearning for more careful thinking about the role of religion in public debate.