Publisher's Synopsis
"America kicked off the 21st century with a two-decade losing streak. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States failed to understand the societies in which it was fighting. Blind to local fundamentals, the military proved unable to achieve effects via futuristic technology and lethal force-while civilian-led development and governance initiatives delivered a negligible return on a staggering investment. Representing the collective experience and expertise of nineteen soldiers, marines, and scholar-practitioners, this book draws upon the lessons of recent past to chart a contrarian view for the future. How should the US military understand the current geopolitical environment? What are the essential capabilities to succeed therein? Cutting against the grain of contemporary military thought-which focuses overwhelmingly on so-called "near-peer" competitors and the technologies needed to confront them-this book argues for the importance of
