John Arquilla
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John Arquilla is a PhD in International Relations from Stanford. He worked at RAND for several years. He left RAND to be a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School, where he is currently.
He was written many articles and books on the future of warfare. He continues to provide consulting for RAND and is one of many advisors to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom are considered followers of Andrew Marshall's RMA (Revolution in Military Affairs).
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[edit] Network military
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He promotes the idea of adapting militaries from a hierarchical structure to a network structure. He suggests that only the network military will be the most able to defeat terrorist networks.
He points to the Roman concept of organized legions defeating the previous military paradigm of the Phalanx. Like wise, terrorist networks have evolved while older Cold War militaries hold on to antiquated paradigms. Network cells can share precise information on a need to know basis without a hierarchical structure. This gives them the ability to disperse and "swarm" in an extremely effective manner, as witness by the 9/11 attacks.
[edit] Cyberwar
As militaries become increasingly dependent on computer automation, they also become more vulnerable to computer attack. After the first Gulf War, Arquilla wrote a book about this cyber threat. Whether such a threat exists remains controversial.
[edit] Quotations
- "The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result." [1]
- "A resistance network has the power to prevail against an enemy whose strategy is based on territorial conquest."
- "Such organizational restructuring would take us from competing hierarchies to cooperating networks. It's a win-win solution, giving us our best chance of heading off a new attack on American soil."
