Adam's Apple
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- Apr 25, 2004
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Are we the Mongols of the Information Age?
By Max Boot, The Los Angeles Times
October 29, 2006
The future of U.S. power rests in its Industrial Age military adapting to decentralized adversaries.
...if history teaches any lesson, it is that no military lead is ever safe. Challengers will always find a way to copy or buy the best weapons systems or develop tactics that will offset their effect. Our most formidable enemies, Al Qaeda and its ilk, have done both. They are using relatively simple information technology the Internet, satellite television, cellphones to organize a global insurgency. By using such weapons as hijacked airliners and bombs detonated by garage-door openers, they are finding cracks in our defenses.
We have an insurmountable advantage in high-end military hardware. No other state is building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, stealth fighters or unmanned aerial vehicles. In fact, we spend more on the development and testing of new weapons $71 billion this year than any other country spends on its entire defense. But all that spending produces weapons systems that aren't much good for pacifying Baghdad or Kandahar.
Technology isn't irrelevant to the global war on terror. We can use powerful surveillance systems to break up terrorist plots. And "smart bombs" can be invaluable for dealing with the perpetrators. But our enemies can stymie multibillion-dollar spy platforms by using couriers instead of satellite phones, which helps explain why Osama bin Laden remains on the loose.
for full article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printed...ot29oct29,1,1714609.column?ctrack=1&cset=true
By Max Boot, The Los Angeles Times
October 29, 2006
The future of U.S. power rests in its Industrial Age military adapting to decentralized adversaries.
...if history teaches any lesson, it is that no military lead is ever safe. Challengers will always find a way to copy or buy the best weapons systems or develop tactics that will offset their effect. Our most formidable enemies, Al Qaeda and its ilk, have done both. They are using relatively simple information technology the Internet, satellite television, cellphones to organize a global insurgency. By using such weapons as hijacked airliners and bombs detonated by garage-door openers, they are finding cracks in our defenses.
We have an insurmountable advantage in high-end military hardware. No other state is building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, stealth fighters or unmanned aerial vehicles. In fact, we spend more on the development and testing of new weapons $71 billion this year than any other country spends on its entire defense. But all that spending produces weapons systems that aren't much good for pacifying Baghdad or Kandahar.
Technology isn't irrelevant to the global war on terror. We can use powerful surveillance systems to break up terrorist plots. And "smart bombs" can be invaluable for dealing with the perpetrators. But our enemies can stymie multibillion-dollar spy platforms by using couriers instead of satellite phones, which helps explain why Osama bin Laden remains on the loose.
for full article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printed...ot29oct29,1,1714609.column?ctrack=1&cset=true
