Tomorrow's war : thinking otherwise

In Asia, in Africa and to the gates of Europe itself, war has returned in strength and in new guises whilst the planet continually rearms. Still hoping for a peace dividend, or even thinking that this is a definite given, would be a dangerous mistake; the violence that flares up and rumbles, seemingly far from our shores, is not, in effect, halted by the old barriers. The coming decades will produce times of crisis and war because we have gone back to an era of permanent conflict. We must therefore prepare for war, for tomorrows war, and adapt our armed forces accordingly.

Tomorrow's war, however, is not that of yesterday, that for which we have been preparing for a long period of time. The difficulties encountered today by classic military power, that was founded on strength, must now encourage us to expand our thinking in this regard. We must think differently.

It is this that the author invites us to do in analysing the evolution of new types of conflict and then detailing the conditions which strike him as being vital in terms of a new military effectiveness.