America's strategy has inadvertently aided Bin Laden's, and more terrorist strikes will almost certainly lead to even greater mistakes
WASHINGTON , Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's involvement in unwinnable wars is making future 9-11s more likely. This is the claim of author David J. Williams in his essay, The Next Generation of Warfare: U.S. National Security in the 21st Century. If he's right, the central challenge President Obama faces is to avoid the trap of an endless conflict that will make America ever more unsafe even as civil liberties wither.
The Resilience of Terror Organizations
According to Williams, American efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have not only caused us to lose focus in the overall war on terror, they are also "accelerating the collapse of the very regions we seek to secure." Williams notes that "there will be many more Al-Qaedas, and our efforts to deal with the first one have left us badly prepared for those in the future."
He goes on to say that our current strategy fails to take into account the extent to which insurgents are combining bottom-up leadership structures with increasingly lethal technologies. Ironically, they do this by taking advantage of the very globalization they hate -- and they are only just getting started. Williams' essay provides a list of the most likely "next attacks" terrorists might initiate, most of which are far worse than 9-11.
The Next Generation of Warfare
Eric Garland of Washington, D.C. -based Competitive Futures has called The Next Generation of Warfare "essential reading" -- all the more so as Williams provides a comprehensive overview of new technologies that are likely to transform America's ability to fight tomorrow's battles. In particular, he shows how increased surveillance and internet "lockdowns" will aid America's leaders in keeping the population safe -- but potentially at the cost of civil liberties that we now take for granted.
Hence, the burning question as President Obama takes over the reins of America's foreign policy is whether he can craft a viable exit strategy, not just from Iraq , but from the larger trap into which we have fallen. According to Williams' The Next Generation of Warfare, without wholesale course changes, the war on terror could be waged well into the 21st century and might result in an America scarcely worth defending.
The Next Generation of Warfare is at http://www.autumnrain2110.com/futureofwar
About the Author
David J. Williams is a science fiction author and noted futurist. His recent novel, The Mirrored Heavens, was published by Random House in 2008, and will be followed by a sequel this spring. Williams graduated from
SOURCE David J. Williams
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