“Fourth Generation Warfare” and the US’

The second concerns what has been dubbed ‘Fourth Generation Warfare’ (4GW), a concept which is of great importance to restructuring the US army (as an imperial force). I have written many times before about the US’ imperialistic ambitions. Today, I‘d like to focus on 4GW and its relationship to the US’ re-emerging imperialist tendencies.

Let’s start by looking at the article ‘All War All the Time’ by William S. Lind, a specialist on military theory from the Republicans’ cultural conservative wing. ‘Every year, the grand old man of the conservative movement, William F. Buckley, hosts a dinner in Washington for other leading conservatives where one key issue is discussed,’ writes Lind. ‘This year, it was the neo-cons’ push to create an American world empire. One of the leading neo-conservatives made the usual pro-empire pitch: Empire is inevitable, we have to make the world safe for democracy, no one can stop us.’ Lind continues, ‘A cultural conservative, who wants America to be a republic, not an empire, asked a question: – What is your answer to Fourth Generation Warfare? – No one around the table had ever heard of it; despite the fact that American soldiers are fighting one Fourth Generation war in Afghanistan, facing another one in Iraq, and getting involved in a third in the Philippines.’

Before touching on the characteristics of 4GW and how it differs from previous generations, I’d like to make an observation on how the US forces are actually sustaining the war in Iraq. Texas-based commercial intelligence website ‘Strategic Forecasting’ (STRATFOR) wrote on July 7 about US forces having hit troubled waters in quelling the Iraqi resistance. ‘Having realized that the war against the US could not be won through conventional means,’ said the site, ‘the Iraqi command opted in favor of a strategic withdrawal – as opposed to staying and resisting the overwhelming US firepower – in preparation for guerrilla operations.’ This quotation demonstrates that the basic feature of 4GW is prolonged conflict between the invader and the rebel.

Certain military analysts have argued that a new style of warfare has emerged due to technological innovations and global immigration movements (such comments first appeared in the Marine Corps Gazette in December 1989). Five years later the concept of globalization was added to the top of this analysis. Yet, the years since have witnessed the questioning of the ‘novel’ nature of the emerging globalization process. And now a phase in globalization is drawing to a close and we stand on the verge of a new one, a classical imperialist age with an ever-increasing number of US military bases worldwide in addition to the Afghan and Iraqi invasions. Of course, history does not simply repeat itself. This new phase in globalization comes with its own distinctive features, both technologically and ideologically. 4GW becomes a struggle between the invasion forces (imperialists) and those resisting them. The US’ imperialistic ambitions are now being resurrected within a new body.”