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MWSA Review
A thoroughly dog-eared copy of Joe Buff’s On 21st Century Nuclear Deterrence deserves a spot on the bookshelves of policy advisors and strategic thinkers. Buff tackles and confronts the complex and highly-nuanced planning that goes into maintaining an effective nuclear deterrence strategy using the sea-air-land triad. Buff writes with a balanced approach that will be appreciated by readers of varying interest and experience in the subject, offering useful anecdotes, historical insights, and subtle wit throughout his book. He faces a touchy subject that many are unwilling or reluctant to address: that among the myriad issues facing the world in the first quarter of the 21st century, there are still a tremendous number of nuclear weapons out there, and while rational powers can surely agree that their use would have catastrophic consequences, we must indeed contend with the fact that they exist…and might end up in the wrong hands.
Buff writes with enthusiasm and earnestness, and his professional role as an actuarial comes out frequently in the mathematical calculations he provides to support his views. He also has a frank and honest approach to writing about a subject that gets too little attention in superpower struggles today in jargon-free prose. I was particularly drawn to the subject of nuclear weapons getting into the hands of terrorists and rogue powers which may not have a rational, game-theory approach to their decision making. It’s a chilling scenario to ponder, and Buff’s book should be a key reference for both US and global policy makers on this important topic.
Review by Frank Biggio (June 2021)
Author's Synopsis
A readable, engaging (and reassuring) look at how Americans, and all of Humanity, will benefit tremendously if we do sustain and modernize US Strategic Command's rightsized nuclear deterrence Triad: We'll continue to prevent nuclear war, big conventional war between superpowers, nuclear blackmail by rogue states, and achieve our global counter-proliferation and nuclear counter-terrorism goals, while also deterring strategic attacks by biological or chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. This series offers a logically rigorous framework, crisply and clearly explained, for successful U.S. national defense and global peacekeeping during the current era of rising Great Power Competition. Volume 1 vividly debunks many common myths about America's nukes -- some of them spread by Hollywood storytellers and some by foreign adversary disinformation trolls.
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1736391006 B08XKDJHPX
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Epub/Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Reference
Number of Pages: 416