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Originally Posted by vautrain
I wasn't necessarily talking about North Korea or China, I was talking about the problem of equating tehnological superiority with military superiority. But, I think any people, given the right resolve, could accomplish this type of warfare against a foreign army.
Unity of purpose is precisely what drives fourth generation war. Our military concentrates on protection of our troops and technological superiority, while fourth generation combatants chip away at our military infrastructure, personnel, and resolve, killing us a few at a time, until we are defeated. Tough to fight that. Whether or not you think it qualifies as true warfare, it eats away at our military by taking advantage of our weaknesses.
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I would dispute this somewhat, but it's probably off-topic here. I'll have to read more of Lind, though. It seems quite interesting.
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With great power also comes great responsibility. That part of the equation is missing in your argument. If the United States acts simply as a bully, as the king of the hill, then other countries will attempt to knock us off that hill, through economic, political, or military means. They will slowly chip away at our strength and our resolve, by taking advantage of our weaknesses (rather than confronting us on our strengths) until we are weakened or defeated. Exactly like fourth generation warfare.
We obviously carry the biggest stick. If we swing it around with extreme arrogance, we also make ourselves the biggest target.
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The reason it's missing from my arguement is because I don't see America as Spider-man. America has it's own interests to protect. And it seems to me like any American action that works toward it's on interests primarily is instantly considered bullying. It's not so much that swinging our stick makes us a target, it's the fact that we're made a target by our status, so we need to swing the stick for survival.