How 9/11 changed our ways of war / edited by James Burk.

ISBN:

9780804788526

9780804786591

9780804788465

Title:

How 9/11 changed our ways of war / edited by James Burk.

Author:

Burk, James, 1948-

Physical Description:

1 online resource (308 pages)

Contents:

The end of (military) history? : the demise of the western way of war / Andrew J. Bacevich -- Assessing strategic choices in the War on Terror / Stephen Biddle and Peter D. Feaver -- The rise, persistence, and decline of the "War on Terror" / Ronald R. Krebs -- Odysseus prevails over Achilles : a warrior model suited to post-9/11 conflicts / Joseph Soeters -- What "success" means in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya / Christopher Dandeker -- Torture, harm, and the prospect of moral repair / James Burk -- Isomorphism within NATO? : soldiers and armed forces before and after 9/11 / Gerhard Kümmel -- The mobilization of private forces after 9/11 : ad hoc response to poor planning / Deborah Avant -- Globalization and Al Qaeda's challenge to American unipolarity / Pascal Vennesson.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Corporate Subject:

North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Subject Term:

Military art and science -- United States.

Military art and science.

September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 -- Influence.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Military policy.

Added Author:

Burk, James, 1948-

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2013

Publication Information:

Stanford, California :

Stanford University Press,

[2013]

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
355.033573 23	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Following the 9/11 attacks, a war against al Qaeda by the U.S. and its liberal democratic allies was next to inevitable. But what kind of war would it be, how would it be fought, for how long, and what would it cost in lives and money? None of this was known at the time. What came to be known was that the old ways of war must change--but how?

Now, with over a decade of political decision-making and warfighting to analyze, How 9/11 Changed Our Ways of War addresses that question. In particular it assesses how well those ways of war, adapted to fight terrorism, affect our military capacity to protect and sustain liberal democratic values.

The book pursues three themes: what shaped the strategic choice to go to war; what force was used to wage the war; and what resources were needed to carry on the fight? In each case, military effectiveness required new and strict limits on the justification, use, and support of force. How to identify and observe these limits is a matter debated by the various contributors. Their debate raises questions about waging future wars--including how to defend against and control the use of drones, cyber warfare, and targeted assassinations. The contributors include historians, political scientists, and sociologists; both academics and practitioners.

Author Notes

James Burk is Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University. He is the editor with David Segal of the four-volume reference work Military Sociology .

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This tightly edited work focuses on how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, transformed subsequent Western decisions to go to war, how to fight, and how to mobilize. Following an introductory chapter by the editor, the subsequent chapters are organized under these three headings: "Choosing War," "Using Force," and "Mobilizing Resources." Two costly, indecisive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11 reinforced Western reliance on wars based on strategies of limited liability. The various contributors diverge regarding specific implications of this change, which are spelled out in the concluding chapter where the stated intention of promoting debate rather than offering definitive conclusions is well achieved. The contributors have solid credentials and include a mix of European and US experts, which enriches the consideration of how 9/11 and its aftermath affects the West as a whole. A fluid style and solid argumentation throughout enhance the accessibility of the book for upper-level undergraduates as well as graduate students and professionals. Reliance on both political and sociological perspectives adds to the cross-disciplinary attractiveness of the book, as does attention to both normative and instrumental perspectives. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. M. A. Morris emeritus, Clemson University