War Without a Center of Gravity: Reflections on Terrorism and Post-Modern War

Abstract

This essay argues that the United States is engaged in the first post-modern conflict, a form of warfare for which it is not ready. It advances the argument that the nature of war has changed because the sociology of war has changed, but, the United States readies itself to fight those wars it understands and knows how to fight. The problem is that the nature of warfare is changing, has changed and that much of US policy, strategy, and the institutions that develop and implement them have not understood or adjusted to the changing nature of war. We have moved from the era of modern war into the era of post-modern war, into an age of war without a center of gravity.