My criticism of the book arises from a wholly different quarter. In sum, I thought the authors never answered the central question posed by the title of their book. Based on the title alone, (which is a real teaser, I might add) I thought our former Defense Secretary would give us his wisdom on likely threats to our national security in the 21st century and why. Instead, what I received was (overall) a rather passionless statistical and analytical analysis (much like a RAND report) of the force strength necessary to fight any of several possible wars, none of which was viewed by the authors as any more likely than another. (I think we had a right to expect more from such a highly esteemed, well-traveled former Defense Secretary. Which scenario does Cap Weinberger feel is most likely of the five? Which potential adversary is he most worried and concerned about and why? He never answers or explores any of these issues.) Far from "ranking" or "speculating" on which adversaries pose the greatest threat and why, the authors wholly abjure making such educated predictions.
What will be the "Next War"? The authors never answer that central question. For that information, I had to turn to a book by a less famous author released at roughly the same time as Weinberger's book. Anthony J. Dennis, in his slender (160-some pages), spell-binding, tightly reasoned book "The Rise of the Islamic Empire and the Threat to the West," (Wyndham Hall Press) gives the reader a fascinating explanation of why he believes the next war will involve the U.S. (and perhaps other Western powers) and the fundamentalist Muslim world (with Iran, Turkey, Sudan and various Muslim Central Asian nations as its axis).
I heard Dennis on a syndicated talk radio show in March where he was a guest for two hours about one week after I had heard Cap Weinberger as a guest on the same talk show. Dennis was articulate, highly engaging as a guest and extremely knowledgeable and certain of his facts. As a result, the host - Roger Fredinburg, kept him on the program for two full hours. Weinberger was articulate as a guest on the same show but the conversation never "caught fire" as it did with Dennis on the line.
Unlike the venerable former Defense Secretary, Anthony Dennis clearly describes in compelling detail what he believes the next national security threat will be in the early 21st century. Having read both books at this point (I happen to work for a "think tank" and so have a real, abiding interest in these issues), I would recommend both books be read together - one for the technical details of war (always important); the other for its creative and visionary thinking about the shape of potential conflicts to come and the reasons why such conflicts are perhaps likely.
