Where Are the WMDs? The Reality of Chem-Bio Threats on the Home Front and the Battlefield.(Book review)

Where Are the WMDs? The Reality of Chem-Bio Threats on the Home Front and the Battlefield by Al Mauroni. Naval Institute Press (http://www.usni.org/press/press.html), 291 Wood Road, Annapolis,Maryland 21402-5034, 2006, 272 pages, $28.95 (hardcover).

At the outset of his book, Al Mauroni announces that "he has a reputation ... for sounding off with brash observations and untested concepts" (p. xi). This is not exactly the preferred intellectual foundation for a solid analytical work on a complex, contentious, and highly technical topic. However, with a wide range of practical experience and solid credentials, Mauroni appears well suited to this task of explaining chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) policy development and implementation. A former member of the Army Chemical Corps, he has served as a consultant to the Joint Staff as well as the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for the Elimination of Chemical Weapons …