Cruise Missile Proliferation in the 1990s - (Washington Papers) by W Seth Carus (Paperback)

About the Book

The proliferation of advanced weapons to volatile regions of the world has become a major issue in the post Cold War era. It was thought that no Third World nation could ever pose a technologically-based threat to the great powers by acquiring advanced weaponry. But this has proved to be wrong. The Persian Gulf War changed the worldwide perception of the spread of ballistic missiles to countries like Iraq. Access to a new type of weapon--cruise missiles--poses an even greater threat. With technology that is accessible, affordable, and relatively simple to produce, Third World countries could acquire highly accurate, long-range cruise missile forces to escalate local conflicts and threaten the forces and even the territories of the industrial powers.

This book is a warning to policymakers. It is not too late to confront the realities of cruise missile proliferation and to devise international responses that could contain the worst possible consequences. Carus proposes a new regime of technology controls, security-building measures, and conflict resolution that need to be considered, and acted on, by policymakers and international relations experts everywhere.

Book Synopsis

The proliferation of advanced weapons to volatile regions of the world has become a major issue in the post Cold War era. It was thought that no Third World nation could ever pose a technologically-based threat to the great powers by acquiring advanced weaponry. But this has proved to be wrong. The Persian Gulf War changed the worldwide perception of the spread of ballistic missiles to countries like Iraq. Access to a new type of weapon--cruise missiles--poses an even greater threat. With technology that is accessible, affordable, and relatively simple to produce, Third World countries could acquire highly accurate, long-range cruise missile forces to escalate local conflicts and threaten the forces and even the territories of the industrial powers.

This book is a warning to policymakers. It is not too late to confront the realities of cruise missile proliferation and to devise international responses that could contain the worst possible consequences. Carus proposes a new regime of technology controls, security-building measures, and conflict resolution that need to be considered, and acted on, by policymakers and international relations experts everywhere.

Review Quotes

"Everyone is aware of the horror of ballistic missiles employed by Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, but few are aware of the accurate and far more devastating attacks on Iraqi military targets caused by U.S. cruise missiles. Seth Carus now provides us with the compelling logic and data to understand why such missiles well may become the long-reach weapons of choice in regional conflicts. Easier to obtain, hide, and use, Carus alerts us to the potentially destabilizing effects of these weapons in the hands of rogue states."- James G. Roche senior defense industry executive and former Democratic Staff Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services

"Seth Carus reveals in superb detail the rapid advances in modern technology that have made cruise missiles increasingly effective delivery vehicles for all types of modern weapons. He raises important concerns that these systems may soon come within the technological and fiscal reach of less advanced and less responsible nations around the globe. Carus's thorough and timely work addresses key issues that U.S. policymakers should not ignore."-John Harvey Senior Research Engineer Center for International Security and Arms Control Stanford University

About the Author

W. SETH CARUS completed this volume while a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. His most recently published works include The Poor Man's Atomic Bomb? Biological Weapons in the Middle East and Ballistic Missiles in Modern Conflict (Praeger, 1991). He was an Olin Fellow at the Naval War College Foundation in Newport, Rhode Island.