Overview
Since the end of World War II, the United States has been the world's pre-eminent military power. Yet it has suffered as much failure as it has experienced victory. The bloody stalemate in Korea, defeats in Vietnam and Afghanistan, and difficulties fighting Iraqi insurgents reflect persistent problems with US military strategy. Beyond these conflicts, soldiers and civilian analysts have flirted, since Hiroshima, with highly dangerous ideas about waging and winning a nuclear war. In this astute critique, leading defense expert John Arquilla identifies the blind spots preventing the US from achieving sustained military success. Drawing on a range of sources, including high-level insiders, he argues that the US has fixated on three aspects of military affairs – strategic air power, nuclear weaponry, and informational/computational analytics – to its detriment and at the expense of effective innovation. This matters not only for the US and its allies, but for its broader impact on the future of war. Given the continuing challenges posed by insurgents and terrorists, a new round of great-power competition, and increasing reliance on AI, the troubled American way of war urgently needs redesigning. At stake are the stability and security of global order.
Reviews
""Relentlessly stimulating, this well-crafted book displays John Arquilla's profound command of history, strategy, and military technology. He masterfully: (a) synthesizes insider interviews, top scholarship, and recent conflicts; and (b) analyzes the pros and cons of 'the American way of war.' He concludes not only with a helpful reading guide, but with passionate, imperative advice on how to improve. An outstanding, timely, and must-read book!"" Brian Orend, author of War and Political Theory and The Morality of War ""Arquilla's narrative makes a compelling case that America's obsession with ever more exquisite military technologies has harmed its warfighting effectiveness over the past eight decades. In tracing the evolving use of strategic air power, nuclear weaponry, and computational analytics in US military strategy, his book reminds readers vividly of the limits of military power when applied toward political aims."" Jennifer Kavanagh, Senior Fellow & Director of Military Analysis, Defense Priorities
Author Information
John Arquilla is a true visionary in national security and technology. Together with David Ronfeldt, he developed the concept of ""cyberwar"" in the early 1990s and was one of the first analysts to appreciate how digital and related technologies were transforming armed conflict. Now Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the United States Naval Postgraduate School, Arquilla is the author, most recently, of Bitskrieg: The New Challenge of Cyberwarfare.
