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Quadrennial Defense Review: Caught Between The Graveyard and The Dragon

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chinese-dragon-redIf America is going to protect her interests, she needs to get old school and new school – at the same time.

The Pentagon’s new Quadrennial Defense Rev­iew has found an increased threat from China in the realms of space and cyberspace, and the need for more choppers, predator drones and light armor on the ground in Afghanistan.

But can the Department of Defense handle two directions at the same time?

Rather than focus on fighting two traditional wars, as has been the case, the time has come for the nation’s warfighters to multi-task – to be ready for the unknown, because the threats faced by the country have never been more diverse.

While American relations with the Red Dragon chill seemingly by the hour, our need to beef up cyber security becomes increasingly necessary.

As The New New Internet’s Michael Cheek described last week:

“This absolute reliance on networks also serves as one of our nation’s greatest vulnerabilities. Previously, researchers demonstrated that a power generator could be destroyed by hacking the system and causing an overload.  With the majority of critical infrastructure held by the private sector, the US faces a series of unique challenges in defending domestic networks.”

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But as the hi-tech threat from our debtors to the east mounts, the ongoing ground struggle against our foes in Afghanistan is persistent.  Since America has experienced success with surveillance and attack procedures performed by the unmanned predator drones, that will remain a pillar of the strategy.

The report calls for more drones and helicopters throughout the early years of the new decade, tools that have proven their worth in the mountains of Afghanistan.  Going with proven solutions is always a good start.

The report states: “It is no longer appropriate to speak of ‘major regional conflicts’ as the sole or even the primary template for sizing, shaping and evaluating U.S. forces. Rather, U.S. forces must be prepared to conduct a wide variety of missions under a range of different circumstances.”

Fulfilling the point is the key to the future success of the nation’s armed forces.  The time for full-scale attack patterns has ended – America must use superior technologies to her benefit, not waste them.  With the nation’s defense working to diversify tactics, she’s on the right track.

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