{"id":1943719,"date":"2023-06-04T05:32:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T09:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-a-war-against-china-america-could-be-the-underdog\/"},"modified":"2023-06-04T05:37:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T09:37:24","slug":"in-a-war-against-china-america-could-be-the-underdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-a-war-against-china-america-could-be-the-underdog\/","title":{"rendered":"US May Be Outmatched in War with China"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-a-war-against-china-america-could-be-the-underdog%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1943719&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Importance of Innovation in Warfare<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Every war,&#8221; former president Dwight Eisenhower once observed, &#8220;is going to astonish you in the way it occurred, and in the way it is carried out.&#8221; In his new book, <em>The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers<\/em>, Andrew Krepinevich reminds us that in warfare the only constant is change. War might be the &#8220;mother of invention,&#8221; as the British historian A.J.P. Taylor famously said, but innovation itself can shape the destinies of nations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Krepinevich, the author of several well-regarded books on warfare, spent years at the Department of Defense\u2019s famed Office of Net Assessment, an in-house think tank. In his latest volume, the scholar shows that militaries that successfully pursue &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cathie-woods-ark-etfs-buy-42-million-in-draftkings-after-short-seller-report\/\" title=\"Cathie Wood\u2019s ARK ETFs Buy  Million In DraftKings After Short-Seller Report\">disruptive innovation<\/a>&#8221; can &#8220;gain a major advantage over their rivals, while those that fail to do so risk exposing their countries to great danger.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>The Timeliness of the Topic<\/h3>\n<p>The topic couldn\u2019t be timelier. For the first time in modern history, the United States is confronted with a potential war with a peer competitor, China. Beijing has designs on Taiwan and seeks to impose its will far from its shores, reshaping the global order to its benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, as Krepinevich demonstrates, the United States will not be able to avail itself of many of the advantages it possessed in previous great power conflicts. Rather, the nation finds itself in the unenviable position of being thoroughly reliant on an enemy that seeks to destroy American hegemony.<\/p>\n<h3>The Role of Technology in Warfare<\/h3>\n<p>A key component of this competition is in the realm of technology. Artificial intelligence will be a decisive battleground. A.I. has received a lot of attention lately, with the advent of Chat GPT and warnings from luminaries like Henry Kissinger and Elon Musk that A.I. will transform the world. It will also, Krepinevich makes clear, change war.<\/p>\n<p>A.I.\u2019s potential to change warfare spans the gamut, from basic logistics to how war itself is fought. Once largely confined to air, sea, and land, the wars of the future will extend to the realms of space and cyber. And disturbingly, the United States no longer holds a homefield advantage.<\/p>\n<p>A 2021 report by Harvard\u2019s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs warned that China has &#8220;become a serious competitor in the foundational technologies of the 21st century&#8221; and &#8220;will overtake the U.S. in the next decade.&#8221; <em>The Origins of Victory<\/em> makes clear this isn\u2019t hyperbole\u2014and that the costs of inaction would be disastrous. Urgency is a necessity.<\/p>\n<h3>The Importance of Historical Context<\/h3>\n<p>Yet, the book\u2019s greatest merit rests in framing the future\u2014and the rapidly changing present\u2014in the past. Krepinevich manages to put the rise of A.I., drone swarms, the internet of things, and big data in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/incredibly-racist-new-york-city-commission-votes-to-remove-200-year-old-thomas-jefferson-statue\/\" title=\"\u2018Incredibly Racist\u2019: New York City Commission Votes To Remove 200-Year-Old Thomas Jefferson Statue\">proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-washed-up-leftists-who-found-homes-in-academia\/\" title=\"5 Washed Up Leftists Who Found Homes In Academia\">historical context<\/a><\/a>. Disruptive technologies are almost as old as warfare itself. He offers a study of modern history that focuses on several momentous changes that, while known to others in his field, might have escaped the general reader.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;History shows,&#8221; Krepinevich writes, &#8220;that a military that first masters the new form of warfare enjoys a clear and potentially decisive advantage over its rivals.&#8221; And he offers numerous examples.<\/p>\n<h3>Lessons from History<\/h3>\n<p>In the middle of the 19th century, Prussia stood at the forefront of the &#8220;Railroad, Rifle and Telegraph Revolution.&#8221; Trains offered land forces &#8220;the advantage of increased speed in mobilization and maneuver at the strategic and operational levels of war&#8221; while greatly reducing the wear and tear brought by long marches. They also enabled militaries to rapidly move supplies, further enhancing both their staying power and size.<\/p>\n<p>The use of the telegraph increased a commander\u2019s ability to direct and move troops. And improvements in small arms offered both better accuracy and the ability to engage at longer distances.<\/p>\n<p>Prussia used this revolution in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/human-experimentation-and-gene-editing-inside-chinas-race-to-create-genetically-modified-soldiers\/\" title=\"Human Experimentation And Gene-Editing: Inside China\u2019s Race To Create Genetically Modified Soldiers\">military affairs<\/a> to its benefit, forging the nation of Germany and defeating the once mighty French empire. Other countries, notably the United States, which itself was fighting a war to unify a continent, soon followed.<\/p>\n<p>The Fisher (or &#8220;Dreadnought&#8221;) Revolution transformed naval warfare. Led by Great Britain, navies began to emphasize speed and were able to operate at greater ranges. New technology in the form of diesel engines and better torpedoes led to a seismic growth in submarine warfare. These advents, coupled with the rise of air warfare and greater mechanization, led to a greater emphasis on geolocating and scouting.<\/p>\n<p>During World War II, signals intelligence and cryptography played a crucial role in defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Radar, and eventually satellites, became increasingly important as America stood at the forefront of the nuclear age. The Soviets and others soon followed.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most instructive historical lesson that Krepinevich cites is the &#8220;Precision-Warfare Revolution,&#8221; best demonstrated by the quick and relatively painless victory achieved by a U.S.-led coalition against Saddam Hussein\u2019s Iraq in the first Gulf war. Stealth aircraft linked to a nascent battle network coupled with laser-guided &#8220;smart bombs&#8221; changed warfare.<\/p>\n<p>As Gen. Buster C. Glosson, the U.S. military\u2019s director of air campaign plans, noted, &#8220;One need only look back to our raids on Schweinfurt, Germany, in World War II to see how dramatically precision weapons have enhanced our capabilities. \u2026 Two raids of 300 B-17 bombers could not achieve with 3,000 bombs what two F-117\u2019s can do with only four.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But contrary to appearances, American victory wasn\u2019t achieved overnight. As Krepinevich rightly notes, that revolution in military affairs could be traced back to the 1970s, when the Pentagon began to invest heavily in researching new technologies. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famously observed, you &#8220;go to war with the army that you have, not the army that you might want or wish to have at a later time.&#8221; Victory isn\u2019t built overnight. Preparation is key.<\/p>\n<h3>The Future of Warfare<\/h3>\n<p>As Krepinevich warns, &#8220;Silver medals are not awarded to those who come in second.&#8221; The nature of man does not change, and if war does come, innovation will be key to preserving life, liberty, and freedom against the greatest police state the world has ever known.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers<\/em> by Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr. is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of warfare and the role of innovation in shaping the destinies of nations.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sean Durns is a Washington, D.C.-based foreign affairs analyst.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>surprise. Krepinevich&#8217;s book, The Origins of Victory, highlights the importance of disruptive military innovation in determining the fate of great powers, emphasizing that surprise is the only constant in warfare. As former president Dwight Eisenhower once said, every war will astonish you in its occurrence and execution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1936,"featured_media":1943720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[4501,28250,6696],"class_list":["post-1943719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon","tag-china","tag-outmatched","tag-war"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1943719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1943719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1943720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1943719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1943719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1943719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}