Product Description

There are many books on the Iraq war and on WMD-type issues, but this is the first to offer a historical overview of chemical-biological defense issues and a policy analysis of how the U. S. government addresses the threat of weapons of mass destruction and how ground forces deal with the problem on the battlefield. Al Mauroni looks at how the 9/11 disaster forced the Department of Defense to review its management of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense equipment and then make significant changes. He outlines in detail the government’s decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and search for WMDs.

The fact that no such weapons were found, the author explains, has had dramatic consequences for how U.S. military forces address the use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in Iraq and how they support the federal response to terrorist incidents involving these weapons at home. Mauroni draws on two decades of experience in the area of chemical-biological defense policy to present this comprehensive analysis of the decision-making process within the Department of Defense and the actions of U.S. forces in the second Iraq War. Explaining that "WMD" is no longer a useful term for the threat faced by military leaders and emergency professionals, he also outlines a number of lessons learned from the conflicts in the Middle East and offers recommendations on how to improve CBRN defense for the future.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1917970 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 333 pages

About the Author
Al Mauroni, a former Army officer, has been a defense consultant on chemical-biological defense policy and programmatics for more than twenty years. A resident of northern Virginia, he is the author of four books and numerous articles on the subject.

Customer Reviews

Good Info and Insights for those in the Business
For those that work in the profession of defending America and its interests from the threats of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) hazards "Where Are the WMDs?" provides a wealth of good information and background. It is particularly useful for those working at the strategic level at the Department of Defense level--Service Headquarters, Office of the Secretary of Defense and similar organizations. Individuals that operate at tactical or operational levels may not be as interested in some of the efforts and history that took place in and around Washington DC. But in order to understand where the CBRN defense program needs to go, it is useful to know where it has been.
Al Mauroni is one of the few professionals writing in this field and many of his ideas are valuable:
* He argues passsionately for a clear-eyed appraisal of the CBRN threat--massive chemical attacks vis-a-vis the Soviet Union are much less likely today--and thus our strategy and acquisition objectives should also change.
* He makes a good case that the term "WMD" is not useful and that we need more accurate terminology to define the problem set.
* Mauroni also clearly sees that the domestic threats need to be treated differently than those encountered in wartime--a distinction that many today seem to overlook. Application of domestic environmental standards like those found in OSHA, NIOSH and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, which are necessary when operating in the U.S., would be disasterous when operating in overseas hostile environments where other dangers such as bullets and IEDs are also present.

Not recommended for the casual reader, but for those that have an interest or are engaged in CBRN defense at the strategic level in the US Government, this book provides useful background and a number of important ideas.