Missile Contagion: Cruise Missile Proliferation and the Threat to International Security | 
| Author: Dennis M. Gormley
Publisher: Praeger Security International Academic Cloth
Category: Book
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Sales Rank: 233451
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0275998363
Dewey Decimal Number: 358.17
EAN: 9780275998363
ASIN: 0275998363
Publication Date: May 30, 2008
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Product Description
Most books on missile proliferation focus on the spread of ballistic missiles or cruise missiles, not both. Gormley's work, however, explains why cruise missiles are beginning to spread widely, but does so by explaining their spread in the context of ballistic missile proliferation. It therefore treats both ballistic and cruise missile proliferation as related phenomenon. This work also focuses evenhandedly on both nonproliferation and defense policy (including missile defenses and counterforce doctrines) to fashion a set of integrated strategies for dealing with ballistic and cruise missile proliferation. Signs of missile contagion abound. In this study, Gormley argues that a series of rapid and surprising developments since 2005 suggest that the proliferation of missiles capable of delivering either weapons of mass destruction or highly accurate conventional payloads is approaching a critical threshold. The surprising fact is that land-attack cruise missiles, not ballistic missiles, constitute the primary problem. Flying under the radar, both literally and figuratively, land-attack cruise missiles add a dangerous new dimension to protecting U.S. security interests and preventing regional military instability. Gormley asserts that cruise missiles are not destined to supplant ballistic missiles; rather, they are likely to join them, because when both are employed together, they could severely test even the best missile defenses. Worse yet, Gormley argues, land-attack cruise missiles are increasingly being linked to preemptive strike doctrines, which are fueling regional arms races and crisis instability. This work explains why an epidemic of cruise missile proliferation, long forecasted by analysts, has only recently begun to occur. After first assessing the state of ballistic missile proliferation, Gormley explores the role of three factors in shaping the spread of cruise missiles. These include specialized knowledge needed for missile development; narrative messages about reasons for acquiring cruise missiles; and norms of state behavior about missile nonproliferation policy and defense doctrine. This book then addresses the policy adjustments needed to stanch the spread of cruise missiles in the first place, or, barring that, cope militarily with a more demanding missile threat consisting of both cruise and ballistic missiles.
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Unique Treatment of the "Lesser Included Case" June 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Dennis Gormley's "Missile Contagion," which draws on the author's extensive experience of working "the cruise missile issue," provides unique insights into technical dimensions and strategic implications of cruise missile proliferation. The book's detailed examination of regional signs of cruise missile "contagion" - as more and more countries increase efforts to procure, factor into doctrines, and accept both the land attack and anti-ship configurations of the system into service - should serve as a wake up call to policymakers, who have at best, ignored, and, at worst, sped up proliferation of the very much usable cruise missile.
Unique among its kind, the book adds a new dimension to literature on missile proliferation by providing an intricate discussion of the importance that tacit knowledge plays in successful development of a complex weapons system. By employing a range of captivating, yet easily accessible, case studies and anecdotes, the author reveals that the "good news" is that cruise missile proliferation is for the time being constrained by the number of individuals with crucial systems engineering and systems integration skills.
But because cruise missile proliferation is reaching a "tipping point," Gormley argues that the U.S. must urgently take advantage of seemingly simple, yet often forgotten or easily dismissed, tools in its non- and counter-proliferation policy toolbox in order to reduce the attractiveness of cruise missiles in the world's hotspots. The author also skillfully dissects the damaging impact of the U.S. declaratory policy on missile defense, which the next administration, its partisan orientation notwithstanding, must remedy to ensure security to the U.S. and its interests.
The book, while written for an expert audience, is nevertheless perfect for a graduate-level reader. The chapters can be used as stand-alone reading assignments to supplement discussion of technical, strategic, and regional implications of missile proliferation. "Missile Contagion" is a most definitely a must-read for defense technology experts, foreign policy practitioners, and students of international security alike.
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