Fourth Generation War in Iraq

A few decades from now we’ll look back at the Iraq War and see exactly what went wrong and why. Now, only a few visionaries see what’s wrong but in a few decades we’ll all know Iraq is the first Fourth Generational War.
Fourth Generational Warfare as envisioned by Col. Bill Lind of the Heritage Foundation is warfare waged by entities other than the nation state. The theory is this since the 17th Century the nation state has had a monopoly on warfare and the use of force. Today, the status quo has changed, the theory states, modern technology has given groups other than the state the capability to wage and win wars.
In Iraq the United States and its massive armies are being humiliated by shadowy insurgents and bands of religious fanatics. The nature of Fourth Generational Warfare favors the terrorists and not the state. The bad guys can do whatever they want and commit any crime but the nation state’s actions are limited by the media spotlights. The terrorists can loot, pillage, torture, maim, murder and commit any crime they want against unarmed civilians. The US government gets raked over the coals for making things tough for the bad guys it’s holding prisoner. The media mindlessly covers every activity of the government but ignores the behavior of the terrorists who hide in the shadows.
In many ways the Iraq War is the perfect example of Fourth Generational Warfare the US is trying to demonstrate its power after the humiliation of Sept. 11 by invading and occupying Iraq. Yet its massive military is humiliated by the insurgents and terrorists who hide in the shadows. Our government and the people who lead it are trying to shore up the Iraq government which is a bad joke with no real power or influence. The Iraq War is showing the world Fourth Generational Warfare in action but nobody is learning the lesson.
The idiotic efforts of our leaders to end the Iraq War prove this. The Iraq study group suggests that we engage in dialogue with the governments of Iran and Syria to end the conflict. Iran and Syria are third rate powers whose governments barely control their nations how can they influence let alone control the situation in Iraq? They suggest the Iraqi government seize control of the situation in Iraq even though it can’t. Iraq’s politicians who know their future is in the hands of various political and religious factions serve those factions interests and ignore the US.
The chaos in the streets of Iraq should scare us because it is our future if we don’t learn from it. There is no government in Iraq, non government actors, terrorists, religious fanatics, gangsters are in control. US soldiers aren’t an occupying army they’re a small force in enemy territory. Even worse the US government has to turn to non government actors like private security contractors and Shiite religious militias to secure Iraq.
The world seems to be mindlessly watching everything that’s happening in Iraq but nobody seems to be paying any real attention to what’s really happening there. Nobody seems to see what Iraq really is the graveyard of the nation state. The Iraqi nation state is already dead, the Iraqi people realize it, nobody else does now the US government seems intent on impaling itself on the same stake. Other countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria seem intent on doing the same thing.
Where this will lead, I don’t know? Corporate warfare? Military entrepreneurs forming private armies to fight wars, religious orders and big business on the battle field. All are possible and all should scare us. For we’ve entered a brave new world in Iraq, the world of Fourth Generational Warfare.