Unto the Fifth Generation of War
Safranski, Mark. "Unto the Fifth Generation of War." ZenPundit. July 17, 2005. http://zenpundit.com/?p=1321 (accessed August 24, 2007).
Early and detailed consideration of aspects which might constitute fifth generation warfare, beginning with concepts of 4GW and building from there.Key trends mentioned:
- Superempowerment
- Fluidity
- Multidimensional Battlespace
- Autonomous Surrogates
Key technologies and sciences mentioned:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Genomics
- Alternative Fuels
- Quantum Computing
- Human Brain Research
- Complexity and Chaos Theory
- Nanotechnology
- String Theory
In addition, the concept of “driving deeper” is specifically noted:
“A strong possibility exists that given successive generations of warfare tend to drive “deeper” into enemy territory, that 5GW will mean systemic liquidation of enemy networks and their sympathizers, essentially a total war on a society or subsection of a society.”
An alternative conceptualization of potential fifth generation warfare is suggested with an early reference to Thomas P. M. Barnett’s ” ‘System Administration’ based Global Transaction Strategy” as a type of 5GW.
Colonel Thomas X. Hammes’ The Sling and the Stone is also quoted.
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