by achughes

I debated on whether I should submit this as an independent post, or attach it to my previous post on John Boyd. But the paragraph that really led me to submit it separately was this:

Fourth Generation war is also marked by a return to a world of cultures, not merely states, in conflict. We now find ourselves facing the Christian West's oldest and most steadfast opponent, Islam. After about three centuries on the strategic defensive, following the failure of the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, Islam has resumed the strategic offensive, expanding outward in every direction. In Third Generation war, invasion by immigration can be at least as dangerous as invasion by a state army.

I thought that it spoke to the anti-islamic, and anti-immigration policies that are currently dominating politics in the US and Europe. My interpretation of the article was that the fear of outsiders is really a holdover from previous third generation wars where this was viable winning strategy.

*additional thoughts:

I think this relates to the current conflict in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to take control of the state in what is really turning into a civil war. Is fourth generation war really more like a civil war with a state actor trying to intervene?