Recent
events in Ukraine demonstrate that the potential for major theater war in the
21st century is not as unthinkable as conventional wisdom may hold, said
Peter Singer,
a senior fellow for New America Foundation, on Thursday. Singer and the coauthor
of his
newest book, August Cole,
conducted extensive research and interviews with those who would fight in such
a conflict—from the US and around the world—and those who would plan and lead
such a war. Unlike the wars of the 20th century, new factors must be explored
about such an “unthinkable” scenario, said Singer. For instance, he noted, the
“lifeblood” of the US military today is a vast network that commands and
controls forces and provides intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
through two unexploited domains in World War II: cyberspace and space. Gaming
out how this network could be challenged, and how it would affect the
“qualitative” difference US forces have built into force planning could help
avert potential disaster in a future conflict, he noted.
