Bøger af Gal Luft

Beer, Bacon and Bullets: Culture in Coalition Warfare from Gallipoli to Iraq by Gal Luft examines how culture can impact the relations between Western militaries and their non-Western allies. Military forces of dissimilar cultures working together are committed to a similar end goal, but their cooperation could be marred by tension related to their different cultural backgrounds. Luft investigates five case studies of military cooperation, describing the squabbles between German advisors and their Ottoman counterparts in WWI, the difficult relations between American and Chinese generals during WWII, how American generals in Saudi Arabia bent over backwards to curry favor with their hosts, and how the Israelis' misunderstanding of their Lebanese allies shaped today's Middle East. Provocative and original, Luft's book suggests that by understanding other military cultures, the performance of military coalitions can be improved. "Although scholars have long written on aspects of culture and warfare, this book is unique in both the cases selected and the author's insight derived from having served in a coalition environment. [...]this book is a valuable resource for soldiers, scholars, policymakers, and civilians who want to better understand the significance of culture in planning and executing coalition operations. The lessons offered will become increasingly important as coalition operations become the norm." Joint Forces Quarterly

Throughout history the pursuit of strategic commodities has governed world affairs. Centuries ago salt enjoyed a monopoly over food preservation, and securing access to the white mineral shaped the great empires' international behavior. Today, it is oil that monopolizes our transportation system giving those who control it inordinate power on the world stage. Breaking the oil cartel and oil's monopoly over transportation fuel is the only way to bring about energy independence, insulate our economy against future oil shocks and win the war on radical Islam, argue two of America's leading energy security advocates Gal Luft and Anne Korin in Turning Oil into Salt: Energy Independence Through Fuel Choice. Energy independence is not about the amount of oil we use or import; it's about turning oil from a strategic commodity second to none to just another commodity. In an unvarnished and lucid manner Luft and Korin chart a realistic way to do so while addressing the barriers on the road.

"Today, there is growing and increasingly unmistakable evidence of the existence of a nexus between energy and security. The latter should be properly understood to include economic and environmental security, as well as the more traditional aspects of national security. And each is being threatened by serious vulnerabilities associated with America's dependence on foreign supplies of oil." (From Frank Gaffney's "The Perilous Nexus)