Today’s defense community has made the grave error of forgetting that irregular warfare is the means by which strategic rivalry is won.
Competition between nuclear superpowers runs the potential of starting World War III Armageddon, which is why the USSR and the USA refrained from sending their soldiers into a direct confrontation during the Cold War. The same mistakes are made by policymakers. In contrast to irregular combat capabilities, the Pentagon spends the majority of the $780 billion military budget on conventional weaponry like fighter jets and navy ships. Consequently, Section 1299L of the Mac Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 gave Congress permission to establish a “Functional Center for Security Studies in Irregular Warfare.” The new center is laid out on a blueprint provided by the College of International Security Affairs (CISA).
