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On War in the 21st Century
Zenith Press
September 2004
336 pages ISBN: 0760320594 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Ongoing events in Iraq show how difficult it is for the
world's only remaining superpower to impose its will upon
other peoples. From Vietnam, French and US, to Afghanistan,
Russian and US, to Israel and the Palestinians, to Somalia
and Kosovo, recent history is replete with powerful
military forces being tied up by seemingly weaker
opponents. This is Fourth Generation War (4GW), and Colonel
Thomas Hammes, United States Marine Corps, tells you all
about it. The author explains asymetrical warfare (4GW) as
the means by which Davids can defeat Goliaths.
"4GW (Fourth Generation Warfare) is the only kind of war
America has ever lost. And we have done so three times – in
Vietnam, Lebanon, and Somalia. This form of warfare has
also defeated the French in Vietnam and Algeria, and the
USSR in Afghanistan…As the only Goliath left in the world,
we should be worried that the world’s Davids have found a
sling and stone that work." – Chapter 1, The Sling and the
Stone: On War in the 21st Century The War in Iraq. The War on Terror. These types
of "asymmetrical" warfare are the conflicts of the 21st
century – and show how difficult it is for the world's only
remaining superpower to battle insurgents and terrorists
who will fight unconventionally in the face of superior
military power. This change in military conflict may seem sudden. But in
his new book, The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st
Century, Thomas X. Hammes, United States Marine Corps,
details how "Fourth Generation Warfare" or "4GW" has
evolved over decades, with powerful military forces from
economically advanced nations being defeated by seemingly
weaker opponents. Hammes, a full colonel on active duty, spent years training
insurgents in various locations around the world. He was
stationed in Somalia in the early 1990s before the
withdrawal of American troops after the events in
Mogadishu. In The Sling and the Stone, he uses this
extensive experience and his lifelong study of military
history to illuminate how war is evolution, not revolution,
and that a "weaker" opponent will continually evolve to use
ways to avoid direct military engagement. Instead of
winning militarily, an insurgency will work to test the
political will of a more powerful nation to stay the course
during a war. "We win the battles," he states, "but we lose
the war." Hammes has seen the capability of insurgents firsthand. "I
was particularly impressed with two aspects of the men I
met," he writes. "First was their utter determination to
continue the struggle despite the odds. They were not
deterred by fear of death…The second outstanding trait was
the remarkable ingenuity they displayed for overcoming
problems. I found insurgents are not impressed with
conventional power. Any nation that assumes it is
inherently superior to another is setting itself up for
disaster." The U.S. has not properly prepared, he contends, for the
military needs and political will that will be required to
win a "low tech conflict" outside the expectations of the
Department of Defense’s 20th century planning for a short-
term conflict with a high-tech, symmetrical enemy like the
Soviet Union. Featuring an overview of the first three
generations of modern war, Hammes then focuses on examples
of the evolution of 4GW, and how it will require decades
instead of months or years to win. He also examines in
detail "transnational" enemies like Al Qaeda, and how the
U.S. military’s focus on high-tech weapons designed to
overpower an enemy in a short amount of time means little
when the enemy has a different concept of the time the
conflict will last. The Sling and the Stone is must reading for anyone who
wants to know what it will take for the West to "win" the
war on terror. As a leading expert on insurgency,
asymmetrical warfare, and the unconventional methods used
by insurgents like those in Iraq and Afghanistan today,
Hammes explains in full detail what to expect from the
enemy in the first major war of the 21st century.
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