Mark,

Yes, all war is political, but there is a difference. While I don't like the phrase 4GW, for now it will suffice. 4th GW warfare militants do not try to achieve their strategic objective by defeating an opponent's military, rather they target the moral and political will through (I think) a sosphisticated information campaign supported by armed/violent propaganda. We on the other hand try to redefine our threat as a traditional military threat and use relatively conventional tactics to counter him.

You also stated that the military develops a plan to achieve the political strategy. While that briefs well, it generally fails. What we in the military need to do is set conditions for political strategic success, and our politicians need to define what those conditions are. Defeating a mass social movement with the military will not happen.

Forget generations of war, I don't like them either. While I can't place my finger on it, there is something different. Then again, perhaps nothing is different, maybe the U.S. military got dumber and less creative over the years due our technical advantage and indoctrination, so we ended up creating a self imposed asymmetry that gives our enemy the advantage?