Secure the Victory: Is It Time for a Stabilization and Reconstruction Command?
Abstract
Since the end of the Cold War the chance that an enemy would attack the United States in direct combat has decreased significantly. Recent victories have demonstrated to the world the dominance of the military in direct combat. With the strength of the nation's economy and the speed of advances in technology behind it the military will continue to outpace its nearest competitors. This gap seems to be expanding making combat against the United States in the future even less likely and too expensive for most countries of the world. However does the military excel in situations where its adversaries prefer to fight using asymmetric methods? Operation Restore Hope in Mogadishu and the instability currently witnessed in occupying Iraq would lead one to question how dominate is the United States in military operations other than war. These methods tend to be cheaper for nations and non-state organizations and are often more difficult to detect by United States intelligence sources. Therefore why would any opponent develop forces that would attack America's strength - direct combat? The United States should expect its future enemies to attack it using asymmetric capabilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 19, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA424382
Entities
People
- Eric L. Ashworth
Organizations
- United States Army War College