Major Republic of Singapore Air Fo Teo

The Acme of Skill: Nonkinetic Warfare: Wright Flyer Paper No. 30 Major Republic of Singapore Air Fo Teo

Publisher Marketing: Nonkinetic warfare, conflict that does not involve using force to inflict physical damage, is rapidly gaining in importance. Scholars of war even from the time of Sun Tzu have articulated that the enemy's destruction is neither essential nor necessarily the best route to ultimate victory. The insurgency attributes that have characterized many wars since World War II suggest that the objective of warfare has shifted from the kinetic destruction of military forces to the nonkinetic impairment of the enemy's will to fight. Four global trends identified in this paper-economic prosperity, freedom of information, the rise of nationalism, and globalization and interdependence-are possible causes for this shift because they make war a less attractive option than ever. As the last major conflict between major powers, the Cold War was won with barely a single kinetic conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union-an excellent model of nonkinetic conflict and perhaps a sign of things to come. In the Cold War, the military largely played a supporting role. In an age characterized by the information revolution and globalization, the information and diplomatic instruments of power will rise in importance. Even in a supporting role, the military instrument nonetheless remains relevant, not least because kinetic conflict can never be ruled out. However, the military's nonkinetic potential needs to be developed in order for it to be more effective in today's world. Three ways to achieve this end are to develop an interagency approach to the military, assign a supporting diplomatic role to the military, and develop a comprehensive and coherent information strategy not only for the military, but for all levels of government. Contributor Bio:  Air University Press Walter Gary Sharp Sr. serves as a senior associate deputy general counsel for intelligence at the US Department of Defense, where he advises on legal issues related to intelligence, covert action, intelligence and counterintelligence policy, intelligence oversight, information security, information sharing, security classification policy, information operations, and computer network operations. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Sharp served as an associate deputy general counsel for international affairs at the Department of Defense; the director of legal research for international, comparative, and foreign law at the Law Library of Congress; the director of global and functional affairs within the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the State Department; and a principal information security engineer at The MITRE Corporation. A veteran with 25 years of service, Dr. Sharp retired as a decorated US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel with prior enlisted service. His military assignments include commanding officer of a field artillery battery, senior prosecutor, deputy legal counsel to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and international law adviser for the commanding general of the Unified Task Force in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope. Dr. Sharp's military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, and his many awards for writing excellence and academic achievement include the Judge Advocate General's School Alumni Association Annual Professional Writing Award and an American Bar Association Award for Professional Merit. Dr. Sharp is the author of numerous articles and three books: UN Peace Operations (1995), CyberSpace and the Use of Force (1999), and Jus Paciarii (1999). He serves as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center where he currently teaches a counterterrorism course, The Law of 24. He has also taught graduate-level seminars on United Nations peace operations and international peace and security. He lectures internationally in universities and other diverse public forums on wide-ranging topics of international law and national security law, such as international peace and security, conflict management, and peacekeeping operations.