Silver Bullet?; Asking the Right Questions About Conventional Prompt Global Strike
Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2013. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. xv, [1], 197, [3] pages. Tables. Figures. Appendix A, B, and C. Notes. Front cover creased. James Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A physicist by training, Acton’s current research focuses on the escalation risks of advanced conventional weapons. Acton’s publications span the field of nuclear policy. They include the Carnegie report, Wagging the Plutonium Dog: Japanese Domestic Politics and its International Security Implications, and two Adelphi books, Deterrence During Disarmament: Deep Nuclear Reductions and International Security and Abolishing Nuclear Weapons (with George Perkovich). An expert on hypersonic conventional weapons and the author of the Carnegie report, Silver Bullet? Asking the Right Questions About Conventional Prompt Global Strike. The development of non-nuclear weapons that can strike distant targets in a short period of time has been a U.S. goal for more than a decade. Advocates argue that such Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) weapons could be used to counter antisatellite weapons or sophisticated defensive capabilities; deny a new proliferator the ability to employ its nuclear arsenal; and kill high-value terrorists. Critics worry that CPGS weapons could create serious strategic risks, most notably of escalation— including to the nuclear level—in a conflict. The U.S. Department of Defense has explored a number of CPGS technologies but has yet to decide on a preferred option, let alone acquire or deploy it. While the U.S. Congress has disapproved of particular plans, it has generally agreed with the importance of acquiring the capability. With some CPGS technologies reaching maturity and an acquisition decision approaching, the time is right for a national debate about the benefits and risks of CPGS. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Conventional Prompt Global Strike, CPGS, Antisatellite Weapons, Escalation, Hypersonic Weapons, Non-nuclear Weapons, Conventional Weapons, Boost-Glide, Deterrence, Arms Control, Terrorism
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