The War over Fourth Generation Warfare (continued)

Areas of Agreement

The strangest thing about the argument over the validity of 4GW often deviates from the original points the authors were trying to get across; warfare is not only changing, but opening up new avenues for attack by use of modern technology. With the advent of the internet and subsequent advance of new communications that use internet technology it is now possible for very few people to wreak disproportionate havoc upon a stronger enemy.

Perhaps the single issue that turns most people off is the assertion by many proponents of 4GW is that warfare conducted with the use of airplanes, tanks, and battleships will be entirely replaced by low intensity and electronic warfare. Some military analysts have even gone further and attempted to make the point that electronic and information warfare, collectively referred to as netwar, will be the one and only form of warfare in the future. Unfortunately, this is a product of Western psychological projection and doesn’t consider the views of non-Western thought on warfare. For the most, part antiwar sentiment resides in the Western world and netwar may be conducive to crippling a more powerful enemy; however that does not mean that our adversaries will lose the desire to challenge the U.S. on the battlefield.

Another Interpretation

While breaking down past conflicts into generations in an attempt to better study the constantly changing face of warfare it is not completely necessary to interpret the new areas that warfare will inhabit. I usually describe warfare as being a spectrum; one without starting and endpoints, but a spectrum through which one player can attack another by various avenues. It is this realization that should be used to describe the attempts by various nations and non-state actors to target the U.S. electronically. The upside of this type of attack is the actions of a few people can cost the target billions of dollars in prevention methods and cleanup after a successful attack. Not only does the attack have a decent probability of success, but it allows the perpetrators to get away more often than not.

While the debate over 4GW is likely to continue for some time it is imperative that the West not become overly fixated on this type of warfare, but realize that the enemies of democracy will use any number of methods to undermine freedom.