THE ART OF WAR IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

Master Sun was a 6th century expert on the art of war. His concept of how a conflict should be fought from a perspective of mental preparedness is timeless. Here is the problem. Probably 1/10th of 1 percent of the political leadership in this world have taken the time to not only read Master Sun, but to comprehend what he was saying. Is the next major conflict going to be different? Absolutely. Will any of those involved in the event follow the wisdom of Master Sun? I doubt that very much. So, why bother with this post? Why go back and rehash a topic I have covered time and time again? I will tell you why. Because the "art of beating the enemy mentally next time around is going to be vital to who comes out victorious. 

Messages that seem to go unseen:

Last week, Europe suffered from a nearly complete failure of Global Positioning Systems / GPS networks. So widespread was this event, most "experts" found it highly unlikely this event was some type of software hickup. In reality, GPS "games" / Weapons Test, for that is what I believe these events are, have been going on for several years. In reality, these "weapons test" have been taking place all over the globe, but like any weapons program under development or upgrade, the owner must continue to "test" them from time to time. It is these "test" that adversaries typically gain knowledge of only once they are underway. Last week in Europe is the latest example. Now it seems, MI-6 believes the latest round of GPS weapon testing took place during the incident with the tanker Impero. Was the tanker in Iranian waters? No, or Tehran would have used that as the excuse. Did the tanker think it was further away from Iranian waters than it actually was and thus allowed the IRGC to have a much faster turn time during the highjacking? most likely. Should the UK have seen how close the tanker was getting to Iranian waters, if this story is true, then yes, they should have. Have the Russians provided the Mullahs with this level of technical capabilities? If so, the "message" there is more important than the event itself. Remember the Master's point about the mindset of the enemy. Was this the topic of the news media in the US this week? Of course not. Did the "right people" take notice? Oh........you bet they did. did the other side, the US, take a turn at the same game? Yep. Remember my comment about the power grid events in Venezuela last week? Yep..... messaging, unless our adversaries took a shot at that weapons test knowing the US would take the blame. Fun game huh?  

Selfish promotion time again:

How much do I believe this new version of warfare will determine the course and outcome of the next major war? So, much so I used one of these events to become the baseline for my book. Look, folks, for those of you who don't spend your day, and I hope that is most of you, wondering how the next conflict might start, where it will take place and why, let me make a very dark prediction. If you think anything you have seen on the news media in the past thirty years will give you an idea of what would take place, you are in for a terrible surprise. I've said this before, but I will keep saying it because it's important. Most of the people in this world will understand something major is taking place not by seeing some "expert" on cable news telling you what you should think. Most will find out when they realize everything they come into contact with doesn't work. Last week, Europe could rely on GPS. This week, ships were lied to by their own computers. Two months ago, American Airlines could schedule flights to the right location. Weapons test. That is what these events most likely were. It's that level of confusion and panic I address in "pending" book....yep....pending..It's at the Kendal review level right now:). 

Imagine:

Imagine a mobilizing military unit's logistics section preparing to have follow on equipment from commercial vendors ready to show up at another location and then, weeks later finding out that equipment was shipped somewhere else. Imagine a Fighter Wing preparing to deploy only to find out all the unit's medical data has been lost or corrupted. Imagine, three weeks into a conflict and suddenly, hundreds of members of the 82nd Airborne's families are notified in the middle of the night their loved ones had been killed. Imagine trying to explain to all of them the text and emails they received were not true.  Imagine thousands of over the road truckers getting bad information on what items to pick up and where. I could go on and on, but the point I am making comes back to Master Sun and one of his primary principles of war. You must understand what impacts your enemy the most and you must be willing to use that weapon without remorse. Years ago, people sat in Las Vegas and watched nuclear weapons being tested just North of their location. Many even had parties for such events. Today's weapons test are taking place all around us, but I don't think you will see any parties.