Our State-Without 5GW in Iraq
A military force that fights the a war in modern warfare’s fifth generation — that is, a 5GW Army, focuses on altering the rules of the game so that the fighting of lower-generational forces proceed in a way favorable to the 5G force. The US is now actively fielding what it hopes is a 5G force — specifically, the MNFI is transforming into a State-Without 5GW Army.
In his testimony (of which I have a pdf copy thanks to the Small Wars Council and ZenPundit), General David Petraeus describes his view of America’s role in Iraq as 5GW in everything but name:
The fundamental source of the conflict in Iraq is competition among ethnic and sectarian communities for power and resources. This competition will take place, and its resolution is key to producing long-term stability in the new Iraq. The question is whether the competition takes place more - or less - violently.
The United States, and thus the Multinational Force - Iraq more generally, are fighting the state-without kind of 5GW.
Filed in The Vault and tagged General David Petraeus, Iraq
TDAXP,
These are the kinds that you mention in the link (Ithink I missed the earlier post):
-The insurgent 5GW (the classical formulation)
-The state-within 5GW (where a clique inside the host society attempts to transform the host society)
-The state-without 5GW (where an operational arm of a government attacks a different society)
The "within"/"without" doesn't translate well in my head. How about the terms: "state-inside-inward" and "state-inside-outward"?