A highly critical but nonpartisan assessment of the controversial former Defense Secretary as told by one of the leading experts on civil-military relations. Focuses on Rumsfeld's notoriously domineering leadership style, flawed vision for transforming the military, and failures in the Iraq War.

This book explores the evolution of the current U.S. research and development enterprise, asks whether this organization remains appropriate to the challenges we face today, and proposes strategies for better preparing for the global technology race shaping our future. Across the globe, nation states and societies, as well as corporations, technology developers, and even individuals, find themselves on the front lines of a global technology race. In the third decade of this century, the outlines of the contest have become clear. R&D spending, new methods such as innovation centers, and powerful technologies in governments and society are rapidly proliferating. Technology winners and losers are emerging. How did we arrive at this global technology fight? How and where will it be waged? What can we do to prepare for the future? Tech Wars examines the conditions that have led us to this point and introduces new strategies, organizational changes, and resource allocations that will help the United States respond to the challenges on the horizon.

Following on from Custom Maid Spin, Peter de Krassel turns his unique international perspective and controversial pen onto the business of war. In the course of reviewing the conflicts of the 20th century and today, he argues that to end, or at least minimize, the cycle of 21st century violence humanity is inflicting on itself, America must lead the peaceful charge for change. To do so Americans need to learn and understand the reasons for war and how future wars can be stopped. War is no the answer to hunger, oil, territorial expansion, ethnic cleansing or the survival of America. On the contrary it is its escalating destructive downfall. He points to China's re-emergence as a global power as America's greatest challenge - and one that must be resolved peacefully. America must keep in mind the warning by the Greek historian Thucydides, more than 2,000 years ago, that belief in the inevitability of conflict can become one of its main causes. In other words, America cannot afford to become a victim of its own political spin " Peter de Krassel's treatment on war reads like a journalistic account of Heart of Darkness. We are like Marlow, journeying down a political river, with each chapter forcing us to shed another layer of ignorance in order to acquire new insight. But this work also brings with it a sense of hope, for we the people are capable of molding our own destiny, as long as we have the wisdom and courage to change things." Brandon Royal, Author, The Little Red Writing Book "An anecdotal and passionate polemic on modern history. An unabashed racy weltanschauung that would not sit well on a White House shelf."Stuart Wolfendale, Columnist, The Standard Peter deKrassel was born in England of a Russian father and Palestinian Jewish mother. He has lived all over the world, including Switzerland, Israel and the United States. Currently he lives in Hong Kong. He has a unique perspective on world events both from the influences of the places he's lived in and the people he has met, as well as from his varied career in the law and the media.

Reviled as a fascist and zealot by libertarians and liberals but praised as a great patriot and devout man of God by many conservatives, John Ashcroft may have been the most powerful and polarizing attorney general in our nation's history. Looking past such oversimplified stereotypes, Nancy Baker offers the first in-depth study of Ashcroft's controversial tenure as attorney general-and as domestic commander in our campaign against global terrorism. Addressing new concerns about challenges to civil liberties in the wake of 9/11, Baker provides a critical assessment of Ashcroft's impact on national life within the context of an enormous expansion of presidential power. Baker depicts a man who even before 9/11 was in search of a mission and then found it in the "War on Terror." She explores how Ashcroft's counterterrorism actions eroded checks on executive power, arguing that the attorney general used both the formal and informal powers of his office to expand executive and law enforcement authority—and did so at the additional expense of criminal procedural rights, privacy rights, and government transparency. Baker tells how the war against terrorism, the unique legal policy role of the attorney general, and Ashcroft's presence in that office dramatically expanded the power and impact of executive power in domestic affairs. She identifies Ashcroft's rhetorical tactics that set his actions at odds with the public interest—such as browbeating critics and marginalizing dissent—and challenges the success claimed by Ashcroft and his supporters in safeguarding America by documenting the Justice Department's lack of effectiveness in key prosecutions. She also includes an enlightening analysis of the Patriot Act and its implications for both civil liberties and government power. By documenting the ongoing importance of Ashcroft's legacy—a legacy now continued by Alberto Gonzalez—Baker shows how he dramatically changed the office and disrupted our constitutional system of divided and checked powers. Her close scrutiny of Ashcroft's actions vividly highlights the role that an attorney general can play in shaping presidential power during national crises and provides a cautionary tale for anyone eager to protect our civil liberties.

Robert S. McNamara is one of modern America's most controversial figures. His opinions, policies, and actions have led to a firestorm of debate, ignited most recently by Errol Morris's Academy Award-winning film, The Fog of War. In the companion book, editors James G. Blight and janet M. Lang use lessons from McNamara's life to examine issues of war and peace in the 20th century. McNamara's career spans some of America's defining events--from the end of World War I, through the course of World War II, and the unfolding of the Cold War in Cuba, Vietnam, and around the world. The Fog of War brings together film transcripts, documents, dialogues, and essays to explore what the horrors and triumphs of the 20th century can teach us about the future.

Accomplished instructors and intelligence practitioners Beebe and Pherson have created a set of twelve robust, class-tested cases on events in foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, terrorism, homeland security, law enforcement, and decision-making support. The case studies are designed to give analysts-intraining a hands-on opportunity to apply structured analytic techniques to tackle real-life problems. Each case delivers a compelling narrative and a set of step-by-step instructions that make teaching and learning as effective and efficient as possible. Key Features: - Questions at the start of each case challenge the student to think critically and help the students bring the case into focus; - Carefully crafted narratives provide the right amount of detail to give a realistic sense of the complexity and challenges of the case; - Recommended readings at the end of each narrative allow room for further research - Sections entitled "Structured Analytic Techniques in Action" frame the analytic tasks and provide step-by-step instructions for applying three to fi ve analytic techniques in a series of exercises for each case study; - Two hundred photos, maps, figures, tables, boxes, and technique templates support analysis and instruction; and - A matrix of the cases and techniques used in each cases augment the annotated table of contents and provide students and instructors an all-in-one view of the contents.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the latest chapter in a series of events that have their origins in World War One. The difficult existential questions that emerged before and during this conflict still remain unresolved. Contrary to the claim that wars are not supposed to happen in Europe or that we live in the era of the End of History, the experience of Ukraine highlights the salience of the spell of the past. The failure of the West to take its past seriously has left it confused and unprepared to deal with the current crisis. Unexpectedly fashionable claims about the irrelevance of borders and of nation states have been exposed as shallow myths. The author argues that the West’s self-inflicted condition of historical amnesia has encouraged it to disregard the salience of geo-political realities. Suddenly the once fashionable claims that made up the virtues of globalisation appear threadbare. This problem, which was already evident during the global Covid pandemic has reached a crisis point in the battlefield of Ukraine. History has had its revenge on a culture that believes that what happened in the past no longer matters. The Road To Ukraine: How the West Lost Its Way argues that overcoming the state of historical amnesia is the precondition for the restoration of global solidarity.