America and the future of war : the past as prologue / Williamson Murray, Ambassador Anthony D. Marshall.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murray, Williamson, author.

Marshall, Anthony D., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military planning--United States.

National security--United States--Forecasting.

Security, International--Forecasting.

World politics--21st century.

United States--Military policy--Forecasting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (238 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Hoover Institution Press, 2017.

Summary:

Throughout the world today there are obvious trouble spots that have the potential to explode into serious conflicts at any time in the immediate or distant future. This study examines what history suggests about the future possibilities and characteristics of war and the place that thinking about conflict deserves in the formation of American strategy in coming decades. The author offers a historical perspective to show that armed conflict between organized political groups has been mankind's constant companion and that America must remain prepared to use its military power to deal with an unstable, uncertain, and fractious world.Williamson Murray shows that while there are aspects of human conflict that will not change no matter what advances in technology or computing power may occur, the character of war appears to be changing at an increasingly rapid pace with scientific advances providing new and more complex weapons, means of production, communications, and sensors, and myriad other inventions, all capable of altering the character of the battle space in unexpected fashions. He explains why the past is crucial to understanding many of the possibilities that lie in wait, as well as for any examination of the course of American strategy and military performance in the future-and warns that the moral and human results of the failure of American politicians and military leaders to recognize the implications of the past are already apparent.

Contents:

An end to war?

The nature and character of war

The nemesis of human affairs : the ever-changing landscape

Deja vu all over again

The American problem

When the lights go off : the United States and war in the twenty-first century.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed March 20, 2017).

ISBN:

9780817920081

0817920080

9780817920067

0817920064