Sorry for getting meta, but Robb’s writings on asymmetric warfare and 4GW (Fourth-Generation Warfare) are thought-inspiring stuff.

Here’s his blog: http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/

From the other side, here’s a convincing criticism of the glorification of 4GW: http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/archives2/003457.html

Robb’s response, and I think the underlying point to all of this: “I believe that global guerrillas will not collapse the West any more than the Internet collapsed Microsoft’s monopoly. Their emergence will, however, change things. Don’t think Vietnam. Think Israel.”

Every armchair strategist talks about playing for keeps, but I believe there is no such thing in the world we currently live in. No ideological enemy can be destroyed; even dominance is not a victory. If this is true, it’s not an outright condemnation of military solutions to political/cultural/economic conflicts, but it greatly reduces the scope of military solutions that make sense for a state actor.