Cook, Martin L.

Perrotti, Cynthia

English

U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons

Naval War College ReviewVolume 58Number 2 Spring Article 132005The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S.MilitaryCynthia PerrottiMartin L. CookFollow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-reviewThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contactrepository.inquiries@usnwc.edu.Recommended CitationPerrotti, Cynthia and Cook, Martin L. (2005) "The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. Military," Naval War College Review:Vol. 58 : No. 2 , Article 13.Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol58/iss2/13be expected to strike frequently to dis-rupt society, the strikes will be difficultto identify and stop, and a progressivelymore integrated world will continue tofoster easier access and more effectivenetworks.In chapters 4 through 7, Ullman dealswith a wide range of strategy optionsfor dealing with the threat. His focus ison the causes of the Palestinian-Israeliconflict; autocratic rule in Saudi Ara-bia, Iran, Syria, and Egypt; the Indian-Pakistani conflict over Kashmir; and theproliferation of weapons of massdestruction.In the final chapter (chapter 8), Ullmandoes an excellent job of pulling histhoughts together and summarizing el-ements of a countervailing strategythat are addressed individually in theearlier parts of the book. They includeinternational considerations such as arevised alliance system as well as do-mestic recommendations involvingCongress, the Department of Defense,the intelligence community, and na-tional security education. Overall thechapter presents a comprehensive andwell thought out approach for tacklingthe threat of Islamic extremism. Assuch, it overcomes a minor distractionof earlier chapters, where the authoroccasionally digresses from his centralfocus to provide possibly unnecessarybackground information.Overall, I recommend the book to anyreader concerned with Islamic extrem-ism. Much has been written about thesubject, but Ullman is to be com-mended for his contribution to our un-derstanding of the challenge and for hiswide-ranging and insightful suggestionsfor a countervailing strategy.HENRY C. BARTLETT, JR.Naval War CollegeFerguson, Charles D., William C. Potter, et al. TheFour Faces of Nuclear Terrorism. Monterey, Calif.:Center for Nonproliferation Studies, 2004.378pp. $19.95Only readers well prepared for a sober-ing analysis of the likelihood of the useof nuclear materials by terrorists and itsconsequences should read this book.The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorismstands alone as a realistic and scientifictreatment of a dire threat. It is well re-searched, credible, and easily understooddespite delving into nuclear physics.The authors, all with impeccable cre-dentials, have effectively framed theirdiscussions around four situations thatchillingly illustrate how nuclear materi-als may find their way into a devastat-ing weapon of mass destruction.Each of the “four faces” is a distinct sce-nario of nuclear terrorism and a fright-ening apparition of what our nationconfronts. The first example is theft anddetonation of an intact nuclear weapon,without question the most worrisome,followed secondly by theft or purchaseof fissile material leading to the fabrica-tion and detonation of a crude nuclearweapon or, as the authors say, an “im-provised nuclear device.” The third ex-ample is an attack on, or sabotage of,nuclear installations, causing the releaseof large amounts of radioactivity. Thefinal manifestation is terrorist dispersalof highly radioactive material by con-ventional explosives, commonly referredto as a “dirty bomb” or, in the authors’words, a “radiological dispersion de-vice.” For each of these calamitous cir-cumstances, the authors provide acacophony of story lines, any one ofwhich would make a riveting movie.1 4 6 N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E R E V I E WC:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2005.vpThursday, March 17, 2005 3:23:35 PMColor profile: DisabledComposite  Default screen1Perrotti and Cook: The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. MilitaryPublished by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2005The writers cleverly create an analyticframework to examine the four “faces”of nuclear terrorism. This probing meth-odology includes looking at a causativechain of events leading to the acquisi-tion and detonation of a mass-casualtyweapon incorporating nuclear material;terrorist motivations and capabilities toachieve nuclear potential; transfer ofradiological materials by force, intimi-dation, collusion, insider assistance, oras a gift by rogue states; defeating safe-guards on the physical protection offissile material or safeguards against un-authorized detonation of a nucleardevice; undetected transportation of adevice to the target; and lastly, conse-quence management of an undeterredterrorist nuclear attack.Although the authors distinguish be-tween the four scenarios, their analysisof underlying factors is often unneces-sarily repetitive. Indeed, conclusionsare lifted verbatim from previous chap-ters—understandably, since patterns ofillegal activity often mirror each other,regardless of criminal goal. This fre-quent redundancy undermines the ar-gument that there are four distinctparadigms relating to nuclear terrorism.Nevertheless, skillful incorporation ofcase studies helps to discriminate theauthors’ definitions.The book does a less effective job of as-sessing the security environment. Chap-ter 1 states, “Risk can be defined as theprobability of an event multiplied by itsconsequences . . . the greater the proba-bility [emphasis added] or the greaterthe consequences, the higher the overallrisk.” A more complete analysis of risk,however, should consider factors ofvulnerability and threat with morespecificity. Probability, as the authorsuse the word, may implicitly considerthreat, foreseeability, and vulnerability,but alone is inadequate to capture thechallenge of assessing risk. The book as-serts that all four scenarios “pose po-tentially grave and imminent dangers”and America “must work to address allof them.” Risk analysis is designed toprioritize resources and energy. Unfor-tunately, however, the book’s conclu-sions do not offer much in the way ofclear focus when all four faces areequally serious. In case the reader is notconvinced of a nuclear terrorist threat,the authors declare, “Given the signifi-cant quantities of radioactive materialcurrently outside regulatory controlaround the world, the unambiguous ev-idence of terrorist interest in usingthese materials to cause harm, and theease of carrying out a radiological at-tack, we believe that such an attack is allbut inevitable.” So much for riskassessment.In contrast, a particularly superb treat-ment of the most frightening develop-ment—that of a terrorist groupacquiring an intact nuclear weapon—isfound in chapter 3. This authoritativediscussion of deteriorating nuclear se-curity in Russia is at the same time can-did and grave. The authors offer anintriguing juxtaposition between theominous threat of huge Cold War inter-continental ballistic missiles and today’smenace of small, portable nuclearweapons. Thoughtful readers will notmiss the implications that “the good olddays” of the Soviet menace made riskassessment less risky.Despite some drawbacks, this book ef-fectively leads confused scientific neo-phytes toward clarity in dealing withthe threat of nuclear terrorism. It de-scribes solutions in ways that allowhomeland security professionals toB O O K R E V I E W S 1 4 7C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2005.vpThursday, March 17, 2005 3:23:36 PMColor profile: DisabledComposite  Default screen2Naval War College Review, Vol. 58 [2005], No. 2, Art. 13https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol58/iss2/13international authority. Without arecognized legitimate international au-thority, he declares, future humanitar-ian wars will be conducted unilaterallyor by a coalition.Another chapter describes the intent ofarea bombing campaigns as either totarget the “enemy’s capability to con-duct military operations” or to “terror-ize civilian populations and demoralizeenemy citizens.” While today it is notpolitically correct to target civilians de-liberately, the author believes any tar-geting of the enemy’s infrastructurecould have a disproportionately negativeeffect on innocent civilians. The conse-quences of bombing now—the loss ofclean water, heat, medical care, andfood—would surely be death later. Inaddition, Cook states, that new precisiontargeting may tempt political leaders touse force early, instead of as a last resort.The short, seven-page chapter on “Re-sisting Global Terrorism” briefly de-scribes the challenges of applying thejust-war framework to terrorism. Sinceal-Qa‘ida is not a sovereign state andwar is waged only against states, doesthe United States have the legitimateauthority to curb terrorist organiza-tions throughout the world? Is there areasonable hope of success? Cook sug-gests that the former model of state sov-ereignty for the just-war frameworkmust be adapted when dealing with ter-rorism, because terrorism is not neces-sarily a threat to a single state but toour civilization’s world order. I wouldhave liked Cook to expand his thoughtson modifications to the just-war frame-work for terrorism.What moral direction should the UnitedStates take now that it is the sole re-maining superpower? What is theproper role of professional militaryadvice from an ethical and practicalviewpoint? Why is force protection soimperative in humanitarian operations?Is the desire for human rights and dem-ocratic governments universally shared?Can we assume that the trend towardsglobalization will make it “irrational forlarge-scale interstate warfare”? These area few of the thought-provoking ques-tions that are discussed in this book.Of the nine chapters, eight have beenpreviously published. This may accountfor the lack of smooth flow among thenumerous themes. Those interested injust-war theory will find this book aninteresting read, but in our post-9/11environment, this extensive treatmentof “humanitarian war” has lost some ofits post-Kosovo luster.CYNTHIA PERROTTILieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force, RetiredMoore, John Norton. Solving the War Puzzle: Be-yond the Democratic Peace. Durham, N.C.:Carolina Academic, 2003. 212pp. $40Solving the War Puzzle may be the mostinsightful and important examinationof the causes of war since Clausewitzpublished On War in 1832. This slimvolume, precisely written, superblyresearched, and elegantly presented,carefully evaluates, integrates, and syn-thesizes the multiple elements the con-fluence of which results in armedconflict. This presentation is then usedas a basis for choosing reasonable indicesfor the deterrence of interstate violence.The broader international system is re-viewed in terms of the governmentstructures involved, the incentives pre-sented to decision makers, and an ex-amination of whether these structuresB O O K R E V I E W S 1 4 9C:\WIP\NWCR\NWC Review Spring 2005.vpThursday, March 17, 2005 3:23:36 PMColor profile: DisabledComposite  Default screen3Perrotti and Cook: The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. MilitaryPublished by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2005

The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. Military

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The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. Military

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