Fourth-Generation War and Other Myths

[Stratiotes]

I read Dr. Echevarria's paper sometime ago and I can't recall particular points with which I disagreed at the time. I do remember it was a decent paper for the most part and I did not have too much heartburn with it. If memory serves, however, it seems to me he did what a lot of people do - clouded the differentiators in the definition of 4GW as opposed to guerrilla or irregular warfare. In that sense, I believe he missed the point and did not do much to discredit the 4GW side. I'll try to find some time to re-read it so I can be more specific. I believe Bill Lind did a response to it though and I'm pretty sure that's available at the DNI site.

As for the "new" side of 4GW - I don't think its really anything new and I don't believe others really think it is either. I think that what they are considering "new" is the fact that it has been given a label where it had none before. In fact, Bill Lind, one of the main proponents of 4GW theory, recommends Barb Tuchman's book on the 14th century as a tool for understanding 4GW better.