In Asia, in Africa and to the gates of Europe itself, war has

returned in strength and in new guises whilst the planet

continually rearms. Still hoping for a peace dividend, or even

thinking that this is a definite given, would be a dangerous

mistake; the violence that flares up and rumbles, seemingly

far from our shores, is not, in effect, halted by the old barriers.

The coming decades will produce times of crisis and war

because we have gone back to an era of permanent conflict.

We must therefore prepare for war, for tomorrows war, and

adapt our armed forces accordingly.

Tomorrow's war, however, is not that of yesterday, that for

which we have been preparing for a long period of time. The

difficulties encountered today by classic military power, that

was founded on strength, must now encourage us to expand

our thinking in this regard. We must think differently.

It is this that the author invites us to do in analysing the

evolution of new types of conflict and then detailing the

conditions which strike him as being vital in terms of a new

military effectiveness.