JOURNAL: The Pentagon and Economic Warfare

Thursday, 09 April 2009

JOURNAL: The Pentagon and Economic Warfare

The Pentagon just completed a wargame that involved overt economic warfare between Russia, China and the US. While I applaud the DoD for thinking more broadly, the entire premise is completely flawed. Economic warfare between major economic powers in an integrated world is mutually suicidal (akin to "how can you win a nuclear war?"). The recent financial crisis points to how interlinked we are and how fast a contagion of distrust can spread. No, the real threat of economic collapse is due to an inability to effectively manage a dynamically unstable global economy or overspending on security (due to a failure of strategy). If there is a threat of economic warfare, it is from asymmetric attack by open source enemies (which could make it deniable).

Posted at 10:49 AM in Journal | Permalink

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On Brave New War

Purchase Brave New War
New York Times Op-Ed
...a fast, thought-sparking book.. -- David Brooks
Greenpeace
I read it twice and bought six copies for my friends -- John Passacantando (Exec. Dir. Greenpeace)
G. Gordon Liddy Show (radio)
...this is a seminal book in the truest sense of the term.. way ahead of the curve... go out and buy it right now -- G. Gordon Liddy
City Journal
Robb has written an important book that every policymaker should read -- Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)
Small Wars Journal
Without reservation Brave New War is for professional students of irregular warfare and for any citizen who wants to understand emerging trends and the dark potential of 4GW -- Frank Hoffman
Scripps Howard News Service
A brilliant new book published by terrorism expert John Robb, titled "Brave New War," hit stores last month with virtually no fanfare. It deserves both significant attention and vigorous debate... - Thomas P.M. Barnett
Chet Richards DNI
John has produced an important book that should help jar the United States and other legacy states out of their Cold War mindset. You can read it in a couple of hours – so you should read it twice...
Washington Times / UPI
Robb correctly finds the antidote to 4GW not in Soviet-style state structures such as the Department of Homeland Security, but in decentralization -- William Lind (the father of 4th generation warfare).
Robert Paterson
Having painted a crystal clear picture of how a war of networks is playing out, he comes to an astonishing conclusion that I hope he fills out in his next book.
The Daily Dish
John Robb of Global Guerrillas has written the most important book of the year, Brave New War. - Daily Dish (The Atlantic)
Simulated Laughter
Well-written. Brave New War reads more like an action novel than a ponderous policy book. - Adam Elkus
FutureJacked
Go buy a copy of this book. Now. If you are low on cash, skip a few lunches and save up the cash. It is worth it. - Michael Flagg
ZenPundit
The second audience is composed of everyone else. Brave New War is simply going to blow them away. - Mark Safranski
Haft of the Spear
There aren’t a lot of books that make me recall a 12-year-old self aching for the next issue of The Invincible Iron Man to hit the shelves. Well done. - Michael Tanji
Ed Cone
His book posits an Army of Davids -- with the traditional nation state in the role of Goliath. - Ed Cone (Ziff Davis)
The Newshoggers
I highly recommend reading and re-reading this work. - Fester
Shloky.com
This is the first real text on next generation warfare designed for the general population and it sets the bar high for following acts. It is smart, it is a short read, and it will change your thinking. - Shlok Vaidya
Politics in the Zeros
I suggest this is something Lefties need to start thinking about now, as that decentralized world is coming. - Bob Morris
Hidden Unities
A thoughtful book that should be read more widely than the latest Tom Friedman whopper, Chalmers Johnson scare tale or Bill Kristol hack fest. - EB