Missile Contagion: Cruise Missile Proliferation and the Threat to International Security

by Dennis M. Gormley

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275998363
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2008
Series:	Praeger Security International
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dennis M. Gormley is a Senior Fellow at the Monterey Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Washington, D.C. and a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Gormley has chaired or served on numerous Department of Defense and intelligence community advisory panels and frequently testified before Congressional committees on missile nonproliferation issues, is the author of three books, and has contributed frequently to leading jourbanals and newspapers.

Table of Contents

Glossary
Preface and Acknowledgments
PART ONE The Proliferation Context
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 The Ballistic Missile Context
Chapter 3 Ballistic Missiles and Regional Competitions
Chapter 4 Land-Attack Cruise Missiles Signs of Contagion
Chapter 5 Regional Signs of Contagion
PART TWO Proliferation Instrumentalities
Chapter 6 Knowledge
Chapter 7 Narrative
Chapter 8 Norms
PART THREE Policy Responses
Chapter 9 Nonproliferation and Defense Policy Responses
Appendix Selected Missile Programs
Notes
Select Bibliography

What People are Saying About This

Janne E. Nolan

"Dennis Gormley's analysis is impeccably rigorous and brilliantly articulate, presenting the facts, history and strategic importance of cruise missiles as they move from misplaced obscurity in recent history to center stage in 21st century global security. As the title Missile Contagion suggests, this book is not a conventional treatment of emerging military technologies or familiar threat scenarios. Gormley's work is unique: original, deeply nuanced, and, although scholarly and empirically rich throughout, written in a style that will prove as captivating to generalists as to military or policy specialists. Missile Contagion represents intellectual history at its very best."

John Newhouse

"This is a book of utmost importance by a consummate authority on weapon systems. Dennis Gormley explains convincingly why modern cruise missiles are the most troublesome and threatening of these. He offers a very well written, wholly accessible treatment of a weapon that joins unmatched versatility with performance and, alas, is also one that can easily find its way into a number of places, including some of the least stable."

—

John Newhouse, Senior Fellow at the World Security Institute

Richard A. Clarke

"The United States has fired hundreds of cruise missiles in combat. Now, others can too, lots of others. Missile Contagion brilliantly documents the little-noticed spread of lethal carriers of destruction and how it has adversely changed the international security equation."

—

Richard A. Clarke, Former senior White House Advisor and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism

Jack Mendelsohn

"From being considered lesser included cases to becoming an increasingly attractive and available delivery system, cruise missiles have become a serious worldwide threat. This study by Dennis Gormley is the one book you need to read to understand about these systems and their strategic impact on national security. In addition to presenting a comprehensive history of the development and deployment of cruise missiles, Dennis Gormley carefully and cogently lays out the concerns created by a growing interest these systems, their utility in various war-fighting scenarios, and the background and analysis necessary to understand and prepare for this hitherto largely overlooked challenge."

—

Jack Mendelsohn, Adjunct professor at George Washington and American Universities

Janne E. Nolan

"Dennis Gormley's analysis is impeccably rigorous and brilliantly articulate, presenting the facts, history and strategic importance of cruise missiles as they move from misplaced obscurity in recent history to center stage in 21st century global security. As the title Missile Contagion suggests, this book is not a conventional treatment of emerging military technologies or familiar threat scenarios. Gormley's work is unique: original, deeply nuanced, and, although scholarly and empirically rich throughout, written in a style that will prove as captivating to generalists as to military or policy specialists. Missile Contagion represents intellectual history at its very best."

—

Janne E. Nolan, Professor of International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh

John Newhouse

"This is a book of utmost importance by a consummate authority on weapon systems. Dennis Gormley explains convincingly why modern cruise missiles are the most troublesome and threatening of these. He offers a very well written, wholly accessible treatment of a weapon that joins unmatched versatility with performance and, alas, is also one that can easily find its way into a number of places, including some of the least stable."

Richard A. Clarke

"The United States has fired hundreds of cruise missiles in combat. Now, others can too, lots of others. Missile Contagion brilliantly documents the little-noticed spread of lethal carriers of destruction and how it has adversely changed the international security equation."

Jack Mendelsohn

"From being considered lesser included cases to becoming an increasingly attractive and available delivery system, cruise missiles have become a serious worldwide threat. This study by Dennis Gormley is the one book you need to read to understand about these systems and their strategic impact on national security. In addition to presenting a comprehensive history of the development and deployment of cruise missiles, Dennis Gormley carefully and cogently lays out the concerns created by a growing interest these systems, their utility in various war-fighting scenarios, and the background and analysis necessary to understand and prepare for this hitherto largely overlooked challenge."

Editorial Reviews

Gormley (Univ. of Pittsburgh) systematically and effectively lays out the often underestimated threat of cruise missile proliferation. . . . Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” —Choice

“The strength of Gormley's approach is that Missile Contagion is structured to address issues of interest to multiple audiences—international security analysts, academics, and policymakers. Failing to heed his unambiguous warnings will increase the likelihood that the missile contagion will spread unchecked, and the United States, along with its allies and friends, will confront a world unnecessarily more dangerous.'” —The Nonproliferation Review

“For all those who want to understand this threat and what can and must be done about it, Gormley's book is an indispensable guide.” —Parameters

“[Gormley's] exhaustive treatment of missile proliferation makes Missile Contagion an important analysis of nonproliferation regimes, the subtle interrelation of cruise and ballistic missiles, and the strategic import of defenses against them.” —Jourbanal of International Security Affairs

From the Publisher