Lethal Networks

Berkowitz, in his book “The New Face of War” speaks of the influence of technology over modern warfare. In the information age, victory will go to the side that has the most influence over technology and its networks. If the U.S. isn’t the one to dominate these information networks, somebody else will.

Legislators and business executives need to have an altruistic sense of purpose that keeps the nation’s goals in mind.

Some believe that Al Qaeda is a rag-tag loose confederation of sloven camel jockeys who happened to just score big on 9-11. Nothing could be further from the truth. The founder, Osama bin Laden is the son of a construction magnate and an engineer. Many of the disaffected youth in Al Qaeda were college educated in the United States. Al Qaeda used exceptional Operational Security, particularly since the press has ratted out U.S. intelligence satellite eves dropping.

History will see Osama Bin Laden as the first military commander to utilize modern technology to level the playing field with U.S. forces. The following are parallels between Al Qaeda and Special Forces in Afghanistan;

1) Both use encrypted communications.
2) Both use small covert teams.
3) Both are controlled by a central command hundreds to thousands of miles away.
4) Both use ‘fuel air’ explosives.
5) Both leaders took refuge underground when under attack.
6) Both are foreigners relying on locals for information and support.

Berkowitz points out that technology is driving both sides to use the same tactics. He notes that the new combat organization is something different the Greek phalanx.

Al Qaeda managed to kill 3,025 Americans where the Japanese killed 2,403 at Pearl Harbor, and the Confederates killed 2,100 at Antietam. The economic impact was in the hundreds of billions. Berkowitz calls it military genius, that a small group like AQ could fight at the same level of a nation-state. Afghanistan nearly became the first nation to sink a U.S. warship since WWII.

“The lesson: Today the ability to collect, communicate, process, and protect information is the most important factor defining military power. In the past armor, firepower, mobility defined military power, but now it often matters less how fast you can move or how much destructive force you can apply. Stealth trumps armor, precision trumps explosive force, and being able to react faster than your opponent trumps speed.”
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“Osama bin Laden was a pioneer, and the September 11 strike was a demonstration. The basic ingredients for creating such a lethal network or combat organization are widely available. Many organizations have the global presence and skills required. They will learn the lessons and adopt similar tactics. The threat is not just Al Qaeda fundamentalism, or terror. The threat is a technology combined with an idea. Lethal networks are here to stay.”