The Shield and the Cloak: Security of the Commons

Gary Hart has long been one of the nation's foremost experts on national security, combining a deep knowledge of national security policy with first-hand experience of the political realities that influence how America safeguards itself and its interests. In his new book, Hart outlines, in clear, simple prose, the fundamental changes with which America must grapple when confronting a terrorist threat that has no state and no geographic homebase and thus offers no genuine target for the world's largest and most sophisticated military force. Hart argues for a security of the commons, emphasizing that the new security will require a shield for the homeland as well as a cloak of non-military security, including security of income, community, environment, and energy.

Library Journal

Hart (The Fourth Power) brings excellent credentials to the subject of security policy. Besides his recently earned doctorate in politics from Oxford, as senator he served on committees on intelligence and the armed forces during two terms (1975-87), and he cochaired the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century. The commission's early 2001 report has been an important source of Hart's criticism of the Bush administration's security policy. But this book's value lies in its stylistic clarity and conceptual breadth, qualities that make it a likely contender in forthcoming political debate. Hart's recommendations nicely balance the notion of security as an aggregate of domestic policies with specific recommendations to strengthen military, diplomatic, and intelligence capabilities. The notion of "civic membership" (i.e., the "cloak") as a security component as crucial as military policy ("the shield") complements Hart's insistence on public accountability. The argument that the United States must seek cooperative security over hegemony, or domination, in a global "commons" may strike readers as persuasive for nonstate threats such as al Qaeda rather than for threats from potential rivals, such as China. Nevertheless, this book is likely to get serious attention. Recommended for all public and academic libraries. [For a Q&A with Hart, see p. 84.-Ed.]-Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Gary Hart represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 1975 to 1987. He is the author of fifteen books, has taught at Yale, and lectured at the University of California and Oxford University, where he earned a doctor of philosophy degree in politics in 2001. As co-chair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, he was credited with forecasting a 9/11-type attack. He resides with his family in Kittredge, Colorado.