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Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating overview of what is ahead for warfare techno
Review: If one counted the number of people throughout history that have perished in wars, the number would be very small if compared to the total number of people who have not. Therefore, the impact of war has been minimal in this respect, eliminating of course consideration of the devastating psychological and economic impact that wars bring to human cultures (even if they do not directly participate in the war at hand). The author of this book gives the reader a vision of the technology that will be used in future conflicts, and the prospects are fascinating if viewed in the abstract, i.e. if one's memory is temporarily blocked to the pain that this technology will bring to the enemy. Fortunately, this same technology will have peaceful applications, and result in more of a benefit to humankind, rather than its destruction. To quote the passage the author uses to introduce the book: "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades..." That humanity is tied together by increasing globalization and makes everyone vunerable to everyone is the author's starting point in the book. Violent perturbations in a small region of the world may have significant impact in regions geographically far apart from it. No citizen of the planet, American or otherwise has the luxury of "sitting out" what may at first seem to be small "isolated" wars, argues the author. The author's emphasis is primarily on the role of the United States in future conflict. He gives a fair and accurate overview of the miliary history of the United States. Americans have always avoided conflict unless absolutely necessary, and the American soldier has in general never been viewed as "cannon fodder". General Norman Schwarzkopf once said that "any commander not concerned with casualties does not deserve to wear the American uniform". This emphasis on the minimization of casualities is the main reason for the incredible technological advancements made in weaponry in the United States. The author cites the Gulf War as being the perfect example of how advanced technology can defeat a vast army with a small number of casualties. An entire chapter of the book is devoted to the technology used in the Gulf War. With a war in Iraq perhaps just a week away, the minimization of casualties will still be held as an axiom, fortunately. Some of the more interesting developments that the author foresees for fighting the wars of the 21st century include: 1. The gun, the history of which he outlines briefly, will no longer be dependent on the physics of projectile motion. Instead, the "bullets" will precision-guided, along the lines of the cruise missiles currently employed. Firing around corners will thus be a reality. 2. Chemicals that can solidify the fuel inside the tank of an enemy vehicle. 3. Bacteria that can decompose rubber tires. 4. Mines that recognize enemy vehicles and consequently destroying them. 5. Weapon systems packed with artificial intelligence, allowing them to be self-launching. 6. Uniforms that monitor a soldier's health and injuries and that can administer anesthetic. 7. Stealth suits that are "chameleon" in nature: changing color based on the environment. The author quotes the U.S. Army Soldier System Center as predicting that these kinds of suits will be available by 2025. 8. The "Objective Force Warrior", the first units of which to be employed by 2015, will have 20 times the range and killing capacity of a current infantryman. 9. The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, with its digital "fly-by-wire" control system. 10. Battlefield robots. The author foresees the rise of intelligent machines capable of engaging in sophisticated and complex combat situations. 11. The use of "Swath" technology to reduce instability and wave motion of naval ships. 12. The use of precision guided and intelligent munitions from drone aircraft, evolving eventually into an intelligent flying killer robot. 12. Space warfare via laser, particle, and microwave beams. 13. The use of non-lethal weaponry: malodorants, informational warfare, acoustics, anti-traction agents, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. It is doubtful that warfare will go completely away in the 21st century, but its impact can be minimized if all of us realize we are not separated by artificial boundary lines. The tightly knit global culture which we participate in entails a never-ending diligence as well as an intense effort to develop even more sophisticated weaponry. For the United States in particular, it becomes imperative to continue to adhere to the doctrine that each individual soldier is precious and not sacrificed cavilierly. The author has given strong arguments as to the utility of high technology in meeting this absolute requirement. The assistance of high technology, in particular intelligent technology, may bring about areas of conflict itself, and these may not be violent ones, but purely ethical ones. Intelligent machines, as the adjective implies, may have their own arguments about their use on the battlefield.
Rating: 
Summary: Top Guns to join dinos?
Review: In THE FUTURE OF WAR, Marc Cerasini shares with us the neat gadgets with which the U.S. military can kick butt in the 21st century. Hooo-rah! Part 1 of the book makes the point that the high tech weaponry used in the 1991 Gulf War is but an introduction to better things to come. I should hope so. (The First) Gulf War is by now ancient history. Who have we thrashed lately? (And where ARE those Iraqi WMD, anyway?) Parts 2 and 3 describe the upcoming clever goodies to outfit, arm and carry our men and women into battle on the ground and the sea. Such things as exoskeleton suits, robots, stealth ships, nifty tanks and helicopters, flying amphibious assault boats, electrothermal and electromagnetic rail guns, precision guided arty shells, and color-changing battle uniforms. Special sections address the future of special ops forces and the Marines. Nuclear subs, by the way, are pretty much at a dead end. It isn't until Part 4 that Cerasini gets to the really cool stuff, i.e. hardware for combat in the air and space. (After all, that's why we civilians lap up films like TOP GUN and STAR WARS.) Interestingly enough, however, the author maintains that conventional, manned warplanes are on the endangered species list. Unmanned drones will be able to do the job more effectively, especially at levels of maneuverability that would kill a human pilot. (Say it ain't so, Tom!) THE FUTURE OF WAR is also a Who's Who of defense contractors: Martin-Marietta, Boeing, General Electric, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Raytheon, and McDonnell Douglas. As a matter of fact, much of the book's text has that measured enthusiasm of a corporate marketing piece created, say, for levering more money out of Congress. Indeed, Cerasini rarely mentions anything so gauche as cost to the taxpayer, prototype failures, or - heaven forbid! - cost overruns. (In all fairness, the author does say about the Osprey helicopter - the subject of a damning "60 Minutes" expose - that "the program to develop the Osprey has been troubled.") As the author would have the reader infer, the business of cutting edge weapons development is pretty much an on-time, within-budget, rosy place. Puhleeze! Don't expect much in the way of photographic illustrations. There are only five, and they're virtually worthless. The last chapter, "When, Where, and How to Deploy?", is Cerasini's opinionated discourse on the subject in which his political leanings show. It's not that I disagree with most of what he says, but I just don't care to be preached at, and I think perhaps that the inclusion of this rant in an otherwise factually stated (as far as it goes) and interesting book was unwise. I started this review intending to award 4 stars, but I've just talked myself down to 3. A mind is a dangerous thing.
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