Asymmetric warfare involves a manner of thinking, organizing, and acting that is different from the opponent (Patterson 2002). This enables one to maximize their own advantages or exploit the weaknesses of their enemies. It involves the use of new capabilities that are not perceived or understood by the enemies. They enable one to counter or exceed the enemies’ capabilities or consist of capabilities that involve entirely new methods of defense or attack. According to Carter (2012), asymmetric warfare is a “war between combatants whose relative power differs significantly or whose strategies or tactics differ significantly” (Carter 2012, second paragraph).
An example of when asymmetric warfare was used was in the American Civil War. With the Union forces making heavy use of the telegraph, telegraph specialists from the Confederate Cavalry (the Union forces’ opponents) made use of the telegraph to send false orders to the Union forces and to switch the military traffic to the incorrect destinations (Patterson 2002).
In the Department of Defense particularly, asymmetric warfare is employed through the use of innovative technology and through the employment of the non-linear battlefield strategy where combat troops are dispersed to many locations and where hostile grounds are in between them. With this strategy, the forward line of troops is no longer employed (Defense Science Board 2008). This would require the commander to have a 360-degree view of the battlefield without the aid of demarcation lines.
In the future, military engagements will no longer be limited geographically. With technology and the commercial infrastructure of globalization, it would become possible for America’s adversaries to cross the border so-to-speak. In this regard, America’s potential adversaries have been studying the country’s military operations, with their attention especially focused on the U.S military’s tactics, strategies, and doctrines (Defense Science Board 2008). In addition, some of the challenges faced by the U.S. military include the opponent’s use of anti-ship missilery, quiet diesel submarines, and other similar technologies. As well, Northrop Grunman reported that China has developed a capability that would allow it to defend its civilian and military networks while trying to take control of its opponent’s information system (Bhattarai 2012).
In response, the U.S. government is currently developing a new system called Plan X that maps the digital field of cyberspace, which defines “a playbook for deploying cyberweapons” (Kaplan 2012, 1st and 2nd paragraphs). This system will provide military officers with a graphical view of cyberspace, which will enable them to identify real-time networking data as well as the ongoing operations. The system will also “receive, store, model, retrieve, and send cyberspace information (Kaplan 2012, 15th paragraph) to the other components of Plan X. In this respect, Plan X can be a part of the U.S. military’s asymmetric warfare strategy in the future. It can also provide military commanders with a digital 360-degree view of the battlefield, which will enable troops to more successfully complete their missions.
Two of the deadliest attacks on the Department of Defense were the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The attack on the World Trade Center occurred on September 11, 2001 and was instigated by Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda terrorist group (Kelly 2013c). On the morning of this day, the terrorists hijacked four commercial jet planes, with the goal of flying them into a number of US targets. In particular, American Airlines Flight 11 would crash into Tower One of the World Trade Center at 8:50 a.m. while United Airlines Flight 175 would crash into Tower 2 at 9:04 a.m. (Kelly 2013c). Tower 2 would collapse by 10:00 a.m. while Tower One would collapse at 10:30 a.m. (Kelly 2013c). This resulted in the deaths of 3,000 people (Kelly 2013c).
On the other hand, United Airlines Flight 77 crashed into The Pentagon at 9:38 a.m., causing a portion of the building to collapse (Kelly 2013b) and causing the loss of 189 lives (Martin 2013b). Lastly, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed to the ground in Somerset County, which is around eighty miles southeast of Pittsburgh (Kelly 2013a). It claimed the lives of 45 people, including the terrorists (“How Many People Died” 2013). It wasn’t determined for certain whether Flight 93 intended to hit the Pentagon or World Trade Center 7.
Although Osama Bin Laden’s reason for attacking the US was never clearly identified, Bin Laden became the main suspect behind this act of terrorism, prompting President George Bush to send troops to Afghanistan in order to capture and fight Bin Laden and the rest of the Al Qaeda members. This extended the battlespace to Afghanistan and neighboring countries such as Pakistan. It would be in Pakistan that Bin Laden would eventually be killed in 2011 (“Death of Bin Laden” 2012).
Another catastrophic attack in the history of the U.S. was the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 (Rosenberg 2013). This involved two hours of bombing by the Japanese forces, which resulted in the deaths of over 2, 400 people and the damage of over 188 U.S. aircraft and twenty-one ships (Rosenberg 2013).
The Japanese attacked the U.S. in an effort to paralyze the United States’ naval forces before the country even joined the war. This attack was led by Admiral Chuichi Nagumo (Rosenberg 2013) who also led the Japanese in carefully sneaking into U.S. territory by sea. They brought with them 3 submarines, 1 light cruiser, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 battleships, 9 destroyers, and 6 aircraft carriers (Rosenberg 2013). They were counting on having the advantage of launching a surprise attack.
Upon reaching their destination on the northern part of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the Japanese started launching the attack at 6:00 a.m. 183 Japanese aircraft was launched as part of the first wave of the attack. The second wave was launched at 7:15 a.m. and involved 167 Japanese aircraft. The Japanese forces’ main targets were the battleship row and the airfields. Since the attack occurred on a Sunday, most of the military personnel were relaxing and enjoying some leisure time. As such, the attack caught them by surprise, preventing them from responding as quickly as they would normally have. By 9:45 a.m., the attack was over and by about 1:00 p.m., the Japanese forces were already on their way back to Japan (Rosenberg 2013).
In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would declare war against Japan the following day, also marking the United States’ entry into the Second World War (Rosenberg 203). This extended the battlespace to Japan and to the other countries involved in the war.
Both attacks, the Twin Tower and Pearl Harbor attacks, used asymmetric warfare strategies as they were both launched as surprise attacks. While the Twin Towers attack occurred on the morning of a regular work day, the Pearl Harbor attack occurred on a day of rest. Such timing caught people unaware, making them briefly disoriented and unable to quickly respond. Both of the attacks also occurred on heavily populated places, which resulted in the massive death tolls. The strategy of non-linear battlefield was also employed in that the attackers and their targets were dispersed. For example, the Twin Tower attackers used four jet planes to attack various targets while the Japanese forces launched both aerial and naval attacks and targeted both the American forces’ battleships and aircraft at almost the same time.
In conclusion, it can be seen through these historical events that physical attacks and warfare do cause a lot of damage to both properties and lives. In our present time, the writer would be inclined to think that such attacks are not entirely improbable; rather, they may even be more likely, especially with the advancements in technology. With cyberspace now included in the modern-day battlespace, the risk of such warfare and terrorism increases even more. In this regard, it would be of utmost importance that the Department of Defense develop the technologies and capabilities that will enable it to accurately predict or anticipate asymmetric warfare, prevent its occurrence, if possible, and respond in a timely manner.
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