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thedrifter
07-17-04, 06:13 AM
07-16-2004

Fourth Generation Warfare – War of the Mind



By J. David Galland



The daily media that portrays the biased claptrap that is consistently being twisted and taken out of context to make it appear that President Bush has morphed into a smiling Pol-Pot, is simply because he has taken a stand against terrorism, when such action may not be deemed “politically correct” by certain segments of society.



Unfortunately, what we have ultimately encountered on the battlefield of the global war on terrorism is not quite exactly what America expected, or was prepared for.



We are confronted with a style of warfare that is so removed from our Cold War era linear force on force confrontational approach, that it makes the U.S. appear as the global aggressor against the weak.



Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Asymmetric warfare of the 21st. Century!



Our global war on terrorism is identified as the “The Fourth Generation of Warfare.” This generation of warfare is distinguished only in a unique fashion by its tactics of “asymmetric combat” – or terrorism.



Unfortunately, the U.S. Capital Building Glee-Club, and those in the media who opt for the daily debasement and public humiliation of our President, do not understand the complicated nature of Fourth Generation Warfare!



In fact, what is even potentially more frightening, damaging and a far more timely issue to be addressed, is that many senior military leaders do not understand Fourth Generation Warfare and its asymmetric applications. Some even refuse to believe that it exists or is ongoing as the root tactic against the U.S. and its allies in the war on terrorism.

The bottom line is, if the United States, its citizens, all of the elected officials, and all members of the serving and reserve military forces don’t get a quick grasp on this new rapidly changing and very aggressive form of Warfare, then the U.S. and its allies are on the wrong and very dangerous road, as recent events tell us.



This problem is not going to go away without a tremendous application of a broad understanding of the issues involved, the aggressive training necessary within the U.S. military, and the political will to see it through. All of this must happen very quickly as we are fighting a deadly and unforgiving foe.



The very real implications of what the U.S. now faces in the global war on terror are far greater than what Joe-citizen could be expected to comprehend, or learn from the mass media. Therefore, another aspect must be the education of our citizens and our allies to a level of understanding that can support the nature of this global war, rather that being ignorant of it, or worse, take actions against it.



If Americans think that they have problems because the cable television is down for the evening, or perhaps because there are no businesses in town with drive-up-windows, then a hard dose or reality is right around the corner.



We have had enough domestic encroachment by our enemies already! Training, education and action need to be taken to curb this very real and growing threat.



To adequately understand the task at hand and how warfare has developed into the war of shadows that now challenges not only this country, but also western civilization itself, one must first understand that, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, the only remaining global Super-Power is the United States. So what’s the problem you ask? The problem is that what we have seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg and, as has often been the case in our relatively short history, the mantle of decision-making, action and funding falls on the United States.



The United States is the only country that can project and sustain robust military operations on a global scale. However, Fourth Generation Warfare – terrorism – is specifically designed and conducted to use our own strengths to defeat us. The openness of our society and the predictability and political correctness of our military tactics further compound the problems we face.



The line and column tactics that pre-dated the Napoleonic era distinguished first generation warfare. History tells us that this tactic did not work well once the British arrived at the Concord Bridge in 1776. The British forces rapidly found themselves involved in a war between societies, between a traditional and a neophyte culture, challenged by irregular combatants, who largely had grass roots emotion and support behind them.



In this first generation of warfare, the seeds of asymmetric war were propagated and lessons were learned and re-learned. The style of warfare has matured to a point that it now threatens the globe.



During World War I, the Western Front served as the epitome of Second Generation Warfare. Also known as the industrial war of attrition, this generation of warfare sought to wear down the enemy by the massive applications of material and by the aggressive use of the weaponry and manpower of the day. In its pure thematic form, the increased technology of heavy weaponry served the U.S. strategy in World War II and it remains as an influence on tactics and maneuver to this day.



Second Generation Warfare has most recently been described as, “shock and awe”, which was quickly picked up by the media.



The advent of the German “blitzkrieg” (lightning war) in 1939, as forces of the Third Reich stormed into Czechoslovakia, Poland and France baptized the world into Third Generation Warfare.



These new tactics of Third Generation Warfare were developed with the hope that the tremendous destruction and casualty costs of Second Generation Warfare could be avoided.



Such bold tactics called for a plan of creating chaos, anxiety, mistrust, paralysis, and ultimate panic on the battlefield. Thus, after conquering Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium, the June 1940, defeat and subsequent surrender of France came as no surprise as Hitler’s juggernaut rapidly exacted their toll on Western Europe.



Today, however, in the global war on terrorism, we find the only remaining Super-Power engaged in a war that has all the stresses and demands of Fourth Generation Warfare.



We are not at war with a country, but rather an idea, which is one of the major sticking points of comprehension on the part of Western Europe and, at the end of the day, their lack of support for the war effort.



We are opposed by non-state entities that wave no flag and who are often protected and clandestinely assisted by what are termed, “rogue-states.”



The complicity of today’s war features asymmetric attacks, not dissimilar to those of third generation warfare. However, they are largely off the battlefield as well as on it. What is different is the intended result of those attacks. In this current form of warfare, the bulls-eye is the enemy’s cohesion, his will to fight, and the minds and emotions of those who would support him.



This phenomenon of fourth-generation warfare is a war between cultures. It is about the ideas that drive a weak, backward culture to use irregular combatants, or terrorists, against non-military as well as military targets. All efforts in this war are with the intent of influencing the mind of the opposition – us – rather than a war between nations where borders are contested by regular armed forces.



Now, we are faced with an opponent who attacks the symbolic nature of our society. Our foe relies on a style of warfare – terrorism – specifically engineered to cause and otherwise evoke great emotional involvement by non-combatants.



The simple plan of the Islamic terrorists is to garner support of the nation states that consider themselves oppressed, or set upon by the big super-power. Or they go the other route, striking at American National Will like a dentist probing a sore tooth.



In addition to bloody terrorist attacks, the fourth generation of warfare is one of propaganda. Our opponents seek to destroy the country’s infrastructure on one hand, while enflaming the collective guilt of U.S. citizens by facilitating what appear to be overreactions by American troops on the evening news. They make it convenient for America to watch innocent people, and our soldiers, being mutilated and murdered, and cast aside in a roadway. In this fashion, the terrorist plays asymmetric warfare like a fine instrument, right to the heart of every American.



While we seek to overcome this formidable challenge, one is asked by media mainstays and our European “allies”, “Will Saddam Hussein’s human rights be respected?” I give you the success of perception, waged by our asymmetric enemy!



J. David Galland is Deputy Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at defensewatch02@yahoo.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=567&rnd=391.8151171573576


Ellie