General Sir Rupert Smith (ret),
former Deputy Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe, discusses whether
we are facing a new age of warfare. He contends that war as we
traditionally know it, no longer exists. The ends for which we fight
are changing. We fight in populated areas, without a distinct
battlefield. Our conflicts tend to be timeless. We fight to preserve
forces rather than risking all to gain an objective, and the combatants
are increasingly non-state actors. On each occasion new uses are found
for old weapons. Is this a new paradigm in warfare and what does it
mean for US policy makers? Has the US trained and equipped itself to
fight wars that no longer exist? How can it transform itself to meet
the challenges of the future?
