William C. Martel

William C. Martel is Associate Professor of International Security Studies at The Fletcher School, Tufts University.

Education
He has a B.A. from St. Anselm College, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was also a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University from 1991–93.

Career
Martel was the Director and Founder of the Center for Strategy and Technology from 1993–99, and Associate Professor of International Relations at the Air War College during the same years. From 1999–2005 he was Professor of National Security Affairs, and Chair of Space Technology and Policy Studies, at the Naval War College.

He has served on the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (2001–02), and is a Member of the Editorial Board of the Naval War College Review. He has also been the principal investigator on space policy study with research support from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Views
Commenting on the entrepreneurs who in the wake of 9/11 were selling everything from a plastic tent complete with an air-filtration system to keep the whole family safe in the event of a germ attack, to germproof bodysuits and mail sterilizers, he said: "It is just people looking for security, in the face of systemic insecurity."

Speaking in 2006 about targeted killings of high-profile suspects whose capture is typically deemed impossible or too great a risk, he said: "It's a pretty dicey proposition capturing somebody. You can't do a snatch and grab casually." In terms of domestic law, he said: "It is permissible to attack individuals who are heads of [either state or non-state] organizations in combat against the United States. Commenting as well in 2006 on the terrorist National Intelligence Estimates declassified intelligence assessment on terrorism, Martel said that its hedging and passive voice reflected an analysis-by-committee approach that wasn't all that helpful to policymakers.  One of its conclusions was that the global jihadist movement is now using the Internet to communicate and to promote its ideology.  Martel said:  "No kidding! I was stunned at how pedestrian it was."

In 2008, he hailed Bush's announcement that he is cutting the length of new tours in Iraq, saying: "in a war military, you have to cut corners to meet objectives.  Progress comes in small doses." The Christian Science Monitor quoted Martel in 2008 saying of al-Qaeda's recruitment of Americans: "It's an immensely adaptive organization", while adding that it could potentially make it more open to penetration by western spies. "It could make it easier for us to understand what they're doing, and why," said Martel.

Speaking of Faisal Shahzad in 2010, he said: “This may suggest we are moving from the ‘A’ team in recruits to the ‘B’ team or even the ‘C’ team."

Books

 * Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Military Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
 * The Technological Arsenal: Emerging Defense Capabilities (editor & author) (2001)
 * Russia's Democratic Moment: Defining U.S. Policy to Promote Democratic Opportunities in Russia (co-editor and author) (1995)
 * Nuclear Coexistence: Rethinking U.S. Policy to Promote Stability in an Era of Proliferation (co-author) (1994)
 * How To Stop A War: Research on Two Hundred Years of War and Peace (co-author) (1987)
 * Strategic Nuclear War: What the Superpowers Target and Why (co-author) (1986)

Select articles

 * "Undeclared War and the Future of US Foreign Policy", Political Science Quarterly (2009)
 * "Formulating Victory and Implications for Policy", Orbis (2008)
 * "Averting a Sino-U.S. Space Race," Washington Quarterly, Fall 2003
 * "Technology and Military Power," The Fletcher Forum, Fall 2001
 * "The End of Non-Proliferation?" Strategic Review, Fall 2000
 * "Information Revolution and American Military Power," (co-author) Orbis (2000)

Select op-eds

 * "An Authoritarian Axis Rising", The Diplomat, June 30, 2012
 * "Can we win the war on terror?", The Providence Journal, March 18, 2010
 * "The West must face facts – Why U.S. can't live with a nuclear Iran", The Providence Journal, September 21, 2006

Select interview

 * "Martel: The Future of U.S. Space Policy", Interviewee:	William Martel, Interviewer: Michael Moran, Council on Foreign Relations, December 5, 2006