Bits and Bytes vs. Bullets and Bombs

2011 ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
John H. Nugent ◽  
Mahesh Raisinghani
Keyword(s):  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Major Threat ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Future ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines briefly the history of warfare, and addresses the likelihood that in the future wars may well be fought, and won or lost not so much by traditional armies and/or throw weights; but rather based upon digital offenses and defenses that are not constrained by geographic limitations or necessarily having overwhelming national resources. This changing landscape may well alter how nations or groups heretofore not a major threat to world powers, soon may pose an even larger threat than that posed by conventional weapons, including weapons of mass destruction (WMD), or at least approach parity with the destructive power of such weapons.

scholarly journals (A211) Nanosciences and CBRN Threats: Considerations about the Potential Risk of Illicit Use of Nanosystems

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s58-s58 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rossodivita ◽  
M. Guidotti ◽  
M. Ranghieri
Keyword(s):  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
Warfare Agents ◽  
History Of ◽  
Illicit Use ◽  
And Control

In the history of humankind, any new scientific discovery has shown the risk of a “dual use” for peaceful purposes or for warfare. In regard to non-conventional weapons, the recent exponential development of nanosciences and nanotechnology can provide efficient tools for counteracting these threats, by improving the detection, protection, and decontamination capabilities in the field of CBRN defence. Nevertheless, these disciplines also may offer novel, uncontrolled means of mass destruction, leading to the synthesis of new, intentionally toxic systems. Furthermore, several points of concern are linked to the new concepts of “nanotoxicology” and “nanopathology: If a multidisciplinary approach is needed to study nanosciences and nanotechnologies, a multidisciplinary approach also is needed to have a strict control on potential illegal uses of nanosystems. Experts active in various fields, such as academic, industrial, military, and health protection institutions, must work cooperatively to constantly follow the state of the art, note which kind of critical emerging technologies may lead to illicit uses, and control the diffusion of hazardous nanosystems that may be potential precursors of weapons of mass destruction, and cooperate with CBRN emergency prevention organizations in order to plan suitable countermeasures. This presentation will cover some examples of nanosystems applied to defense from non-conventional warfare agents and answer questions regarding potential misuses of basic nanoscience and nanotechnology findings.

The Social Space of Terror: Towards a Civil Interpretation of Total War

1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Total War ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Warfare ◽  
Urban Places ◽  
Second World

In the paper I seek to interpret modern warfare from the perspective of civil society and its geography. I emphasize the predicament of civilians who are subject to direct and deliberate armed assaults. Particular attention is given to enforced uprooting or removals of population, and to annihilation of urban places with weapons of mass destruction. Two case histories are explored, both taken from the last months of the Second World War. They are, the expulsion of German civilians from Eastern Europe, and the firebombing of Japanese cities, especially Tokyo. Damages and casualties are detailed. However, the main concern is to establish the composition, plight, and responses of civilian populations, and this includes their relation to national war efforts. It is concluded that the vast majority, because of gender, age, health, occupation, and class, were essentially marginal to, and little involved in, the war efforts of their respective states. This contrasts sharply with the assumptions or rhetoric of the theory of ‘total war’, and the practice of targetting civilians and nonmilitary areas. It is suggested that the majority of home populations remain civilians in the fullest sense of the term, even in wartime. From this it follows that assaults upon them by military forces are primarily strategies of terror, and that the ‘social space’ attacked is essentially civilian. Such uprootings and mass destruction of human settlements have, however, become an ever larger part of the war strategies, and the history of warfare, of most powers since 1945.

scholarly journals Analysis and prospect of China's contemporary anti-terrorism intelligence perception

2021 ◽  
Vol 336 ◽  
pp. 09027
Author(s):  
Huijie Zheng ◽  
Zhenxing Chang ◽  
Hezi Liu ◽  
Yu Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Future Development ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
The Future

New types of weapons of mass destruction are still being developed continuously at a time when traditional violent and terrorist activities such as explosions, hijackings, and hacking are increasingly rampant. In order to prevent major losses caused by terrorist activities and bring chaos to the order of social life, the importance of obtaining terrorist intelligence is increasing. This paper analyzes China’s deficiencies in intelligence perception and monitoring through collation, and summarizes the progress in the corresponding areas, and puts forward some of its own prospects for the future development of intelligence perception in China.

Muse

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-50
Author(s):  
barbara koenen
Keyword(s):  
War On Terror ◽  
Pomegranate Juice ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Religious Symbol ◽  
Fertile Crescent ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Times

Muse is a personal investigation into the historical and contemporary correlations between pomegranates and hand grenades by the author, an artist based in the Midwest. The essay begins with her reminiscences of witnessing a red-stained feast of the “exotic” pomegranate that was hosted by a friend of Armenian descent; then it chronicles the fruit’s historical associations as a fertility and religious symbol in many cultures since ancient times and its cultivation, beginning in the Fertile Crescent and extending across Asia and into Europe and North America. Upon her realization that hand grenades are named after pomegranates, the author describes physical comparisons between the bomb and the fruit, provides a brief history of grenades and grenadiers, and then muses on the contemporaneous marketing campaigns for the War on Terror that paved the way for the 2003 United States invasion into Iraq, and for POM Wonderful beverages that “defy death” as an “Antioxidant Superpower™.” As the hyperbolic claims of both marketing campaigns were later debunked—Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction and pomegranate juice does not cure cancer—the essay concludes by noting a recent, modest investment by the US government into the cultivation and exporting of pomegranates in Afghanistan as a hopeful sign.

ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN, Iraq and the War of Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999). Pp. 717. ANTHONY H. CORDESMAN, Iran's Military Forces in Transition: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999). Pp. 432.

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith S. Yaphe
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Delivery Systems ◽  
Ballistic Missile ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Weapons Systems

Tony Cordesman has become a veritable institution among Washington policy analysts. Few are more prolific, especially in the area of comparative analysis of weapons systems. He can be depended on to produce data-rich, comprehensive, lavishly documented studies of military doctrine and usage, intentions to acquire or produce weapons systems, and willingness to abide by international arms-control regimes. These two books are no exception. They include indepth analyses of conventional and non-conventional weapons systems. It is the latter that makes these books so important to analysts of regional weapons development and arms control. Cordesman examines Iraqi and Iranian acquisitions, from purchase, absorption, production, and use of conventional weapons to efforts to acquire nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons—the so-called weapons of mass destruction—and the requisite ballistic-missile–delivery systems.

America, Russia, and the Future of Arms Control

2001 ◽  
Vol 100 (648) ◽  
pp. 323-329
Author(s):  
Jack Mendelsohn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

The Bush administration's national security policies, if fully and unilaterally implemented, will severely stress United States relations with Russia and China. … These policies would also deal a serious blow to the international treaty regimes developed over the past 30 years to control the spread of weapons of mass destruction and that continue to enjoy universal support and approval.

7. Technology and Warfare

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliot A. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Irregular Warfare ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Military Technology ◽  
The Future ◽  
Revolution In Military Affairs ◽  
Conventional Technology ◽  
Asymmetric Responses

This chapter examines emerging technological trends that are likely to transform future warfare. It first considers some concepts about military technology before discussing the debate over the revolution in military affairs. It then explores three broad features of the new technological era in warfare: the rise of quality over quantity, the speciation of military hardware, and the centrality of commercial military technology. It also describes the challenges presented by the new technology for warfare, including information technology, and concludes with some reflections on the future of military technology. It suggests that superior conventional technology can be counterbalanced, to some extent, by asymmetric responses, such as irregular warfare and the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document