The Future of Western Warfare

  Order Description         The Western waу of war, with its emphasis on large, well trained professional soldiers and its abilitу to finance them through the extensive use of creative credit networks, has dominated the geopolitical landscape for the past 500 years. Rarely have any non-Western societies successfully resisted a Western military and never have they actually defeated them in battle. Nevertheless, some have argued that the Western way of war, at least as we have come to know it, is obsolete. They point to threats such as Al-Queda and ISIS that cannot be confronted simply by the deployment of large military forces as the enemy simply blends into the civilian population and disappears when confronted directly. Conversely, others point to threats such as North Korea and China that obviously cannot be confronted with small, elite units.   peer 50 or so years into the future. The Western way of war has dominated the geo-political landscape for 500 years? Will it continue to do so? Or, is it a relic of the past that is being rendered obsolete in a new information age? Choose a side and make your argument.   The Western way of war has been characterized by, among others, five things: 1. Extensive defensive fortifications that can resist aggression for long periods of time. For example, Leningrad held out for three years against a continuous German assault. 2. The logistical ability to maintain large armies in the field for long periods of time. 3. A broad tax base and extensive credit network to mobilize resources for war. 4. The willingness to innovate regardless of the source of the innovation. Military innovations are judged solely on the criteria of effectiveness. American commanders, for example, willingly adopted the effective tactics of Germany's blitzkrieg. 5. Military discipline of large units. Organizations of these units have exceeded 100,000 men at times.