Mse293: Technology In National Security: Lecture 1

Technology in National Security Lecture 1 What distinguishes man? The ability to use tools. That is what we’re going to be talking about. The first tools were weapons. Weapons were used to survive, by killing animals and avoiding becoming food. Tools critical. Weapons evolved. Suddenly, weapons used against each other. The innovative use of technologies to make weapons. Mesopotamia Had good knife weapons—lead the world in weapons—lead the world in power. Now, it is Iraq. Advanced Weapons Technology made tools advance, thus making weapons advanced. Knights are a good example. The stirrup made Knights better and more accurate. Crossbow was another advancement—much better and very accurate. New revolutions in weapons can totally upset a whole paradigm. The longbow replaced the crossbow. Clip of Henry V The longbows and pikes defeated the French, outnumbered 5 to 1. The end of the Knight on horseback. Renaissance Art. New weapons. Science. Da Vinci designed some weapons too. Helicopter. He wrote of submarines, but he didn’t want to let it out because he knew they would be used for evil. Not realized until several centuries later. He was ahead of his time. Gunpowder Pistols. Cannons. Early cannons blew up. Now cannons can break down city walls. The walls needed to be reinforced. Old forts now useless. Heavy warships were created. In the next four years, more happened in technology than in the last 4000 years. Radar

1940: Allowed Britain to defeat Germany. Desert Storm: USA bombed Bagdad. Bagdad tried to shoot down USA, but couldn’t do it. What happened? What was the problem? Why was radar not working for Bagdad? Stealth technology incorporated in the F1-17. Radars could not detect them. At first, these technologies didn’t want to be accepted. Very controversial. It was the policy makers that made the decisions.. not the engineers. Stealth and smart bombs were contested by a caucus. He had to make a decision against this—the technology saved many USA lives. There should be an intense education of science in leaders. The best of the best should be selected as king (Plato’s Republic). Now, in the modern world, a scientific training may actually be a liability. Persuaded Einstein to write a letter to Roosevelt—to say how important new developments in nuclear science, about atomic bomb. The manhattan project came out of this. Hitler also got word of the atomic bomb, but he decided that he would win the war before it could be developed. This course connects policy makers and scientists. There will be a test on the history. Buy Book: Preventive Defense, Carter and Perry