Published: 1 September 2008
Air & Space Power Journal - Fall 2008

Striking First: Preemptive and Preventive Attack in U.S. National Security Policy by Karl P. Mueller et al. RAND (http://www.rand.org/publications/index.html), 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, California 90407-2138, 2006, 344 pages, $30.00 (softcover). Available free from http://www.rand.org/pubs /monographs/2006/RAND_MG403.pdf.

In light of violent nonstate actors, proliferation, changing defense policy, and—for the US military—an attendant shift to a more “expeditionary” outlook, preemption seems an increasingly relevant doctrine. Events leading to the invasion of Iraq as well as the emergent Iranian and North Korean nuclear crises seem to underscore this fact. The authors of Striking First, a broad yet well-founded analysis, show that although an early offense can be a surprisingly flexible policy option, it is never a simple one.

A solidly written work, Striking First aligns the purposefully vague outlines of national security policy with the language and analysis of international-­relations scholars and historians, laying the ground rules for further analysis. From the beginning, the authors immerse the reader in discussions on making decisions with incomplete information, consensus building between nation-states, and cost-benefit analyses as they pertain to preemptive attack. At times, these analyses take on typical characteristics of RAND research: reliance on graphs, figures, and frameworks with a somewhat detached attitude. However, the authors quickly and consistently introduce current examples in order to place concepts in context.

They also clearly define the advantages and disadvantages of attacking before the enemy does, illustrating the multitude of different factors that affect how and when proactive conflicts could occur. This skillfully segues into a rather involved discussion of how international law interfaces with the actions of nation-states on the battlefield, the difference between legality and legitimacy, and the gap between de jure and de facto limitations on the use of force. During this discourse on limits to preemptive conflict, the authors place the analysis in a framework of consequences and outcomes for present and future planning/action.

The analysis in Striking First is solid and stands on its own, but the work does not come ex nihilo; isolated from real-world conditions, it has little meaning. The dissection of preemption in international conflict is shot through with a hard-edged realism appropriate to a political-science text. The appendices—occupying more pages than the main body of the work—examine historical cases of preemptive and preventive attack by the United States and other countries in a wide variety of situations throughout the entire spectrum of conflict. The authors use conflicts, ranging from those between large nation-states (war) to military operations other than war against smaller nonstate actors, as sources for dialogue. Specific policy prescriptions and courses of action lend credence and impact to the discussion by suggesting how to reach occasionally unclear policy goals with several concrete steps.

A concise, vital, and clear look at the complex intersection of policy and war fighting, Striking First shows the factors influencing preemptive and preventive attack, potential outcomes, and the way ahead. It is of particular interest and importance to anyone with a role in the national security of the United States and could not be more germane to military operations and strategic planning for the present and near future.

1st Lt Kevin M. Hullihan, USAF
Malmstrom AFB, Montana

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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