Strategic Studies

Abstract

John Ferris examines the Revolution in Military Affairs with regard to how The Biggest Force Multiplier?: Knowledge, Information and Warfare in the 21st Century affected discussions on military policy and the knowledge available to armed forces, thus shaping the nature of war.

In Calculating Costs: A Critical Assessment of Verification Costs for a Fissile Material Cutoff (a regime discussed at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1995), George MacLean and James Keeley examine the often overlooked financial aspects affecting the viability of a treaty crucial to the process of nuclear disarmament and arms control.  Their article examines the estimated costs of verifiying the cutoff, including analuyses of configurations of the cutoff itself, and the varying verification systems that may be implemented.

Gavin Cameron's article, WMD Terrorism: No Longer of Question of If, but When? considers the likelihood of terrorists using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapons after 9/11.  He argues that massive conventional weapons remain a more realistic threat, in part owing to the difficulties of acquiring and using CBRN weapons.  Past uses or attempted uses of such weapons by terrorists and the tactical choices made by the9/11 attackers are considered, and the effect of the attack on other groups' tactical choices in the future is then analyszed.