In Their Own Words

Partly Cloudy explores a number of wrenching ethical issues and challenges faced by our military and intelligence personnel. Topics include an introduction to ethical reasoning; comparative religious views on killing and war; anticipating and preventing atrocities in war; just-war themes in Shakespeare's "Henry V"; secrecy and democratic accountability in intelligence operations; a short history of Russian intelligence and its impact on the development of the CIA; employing espionage to penetrate hostile regimes and terrorist cells; covert political influence, coups, and targeted killings; the question of torture in interrogating detainees; and practical peacemaking strategies. David L. Perry is director of the Vann Center for Ethics and professor of applied ethics at Davidson College in North Carolina. From 2003 to 2009, he was professor of ethics at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.