Fourth Generation War (4GW) emerged in the late 1980s, but has become popular due to recent twists in the war in Iraq, and terrorist attacks worldwide. In brief, the theory holds that warfare has evolved through four generations: 1) the…
The author examines the principal characteristics and ideas associated with the American way of war, past and present. He argues that Americans do not have a way of war, but rather a way of battle. LTC Echevarria contends that moving…
The authors have examined the scope and substance of our National Security Strategy for Homeland Security (NSHS). Disturbingly, they find that the NSHS fails to address the challenges that globalization poses for the security of the American homeland. The NSHS…
The author explores the nature of war, and how it has changed as a result of globalization. He uses the Clausewitzian model of war’s trinity (political guidance, chance, and enmity) as a framework for understanding the nature of war, a…
The author cuts through the myriad interpretations surrounding the concept and gets back to the original idea as conceived by its author, the Prussian military theorist, Carl von Clausewitz. In going back to the original concept, Lieutenant Colonel Echevarria reveals…
In support of the Joint community’s efforts to develop a viable operational concept, the author argues that the Rapid Decisive Operations (RDO) concepts developers deserve high praise for attempting to link two relative properties–speed and decisiveness–but that the definition of…
Brigadier General (Retired) Huba Wass de Czege and Lieutenant Colonel Antulio J. Echevarria II make a case for a strategy aimed at achieving positive, rather than neutral or negative, ends. They first discuss the dynamic conditions of the new strategic…
The topic of homeland security includes a broad array of missions and mission areas ranging from national missile defense to military assistance to civil authorities. The topic has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to the public’s heightened…