The Next World War: Computers Are the Weapons and the Front Line Is Everywhere - Softcover

Adams, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743223802 ISBN 13: 9780743223805

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2001

Synopsis

In The Next World War, James Adams shows how a new chapter in military history is being written as the Information Age comes to the battlefield: to bigger and stronger, now add smarter.
But the most sugnificant and important use of information warfare won't be on the battlefield. The most devastating weapons will be those that target an enemy's infrastructure - air-control systems, electrical grids, and communication networks, to name just a few potential targets. By hacking into computer systems, the United States could override programmed commands and thus shut down air traffic control systems, and open floodgates and bridges. Misinformation could even be broadcast, for example, by using imaging technology to simulate a television appearance by an enemy nation's leaders. This type of combat puts civilians at more risk than ever, as financial, communications, transportation, and other infrastructure systems become prime military targets. And information warfare puts the United States - a nation increasingly dependent on technology - in a position of both definite advantage and extreme vulnerability.

About this title

Review:

Has the computer chip changed the nature of warfare? Will it eventually change war beyond current recognition? Adams, the former defense correspondent and Washington bureau chief for the London Sunday Times, believes that information will become the ultimate weapon and that future battlegrounds will be everywhere we live and work. While the weapons and technology of war will improve beyond even technofiction's expectations, it's the "information warfare" that will be critical in foreign wars and in the war against domestic crime.

We've already seen some of what is to come in the Gulf War's camera-equipped smart bombs. Soldiers can now be equipped with hand-held computers that can send messages and information back to superiors. And among the weapons to come: microwave cannons; plasma guns; devices that can see, smell, and hear; and even robotic "ants" that can swarm and explode around the enemy. Soldiers will wear uniforms powered by body heat that automatically relay important information back to their base camp. Helmets will be able to locate incoming fire, help a soldier see under all kinds of conditions, and locate others in a patrol.

The ability to attack an enemy's civilian infrastructure, such as communication networks, air traffic control, bridges and dams, and electric grids, will be part of the new era of war. With the advanced state of digital imaging, misinformation campaigns in enemy countries can take on a much more convincing role. All it takes is for one country to have a few skilled hackers, and suddenly the number of troops, the hardware, and the nuclear devices don't matter. Could there be an "electronic Pearl Harbor?"

Adams's research and journalism experience has made him aware of how much information warfare is being planned for and how much is already in place. His concern, in part, is that there has been little public debate about this, even though it affects our future so dramatically. Adams says "As David proved against Goliath, strength can be beaten. America today looks uncomfortably like Goliath, arrogant in its power, armed to the teeth, ignorant of its weakness." --Elizabeth Lewis

About the Author:

James Adams is the Chief Executive Officer of United Press International.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0743223802
• ISBN 13: 9780743223805
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368