Our New Paradigm: Supporting Warfighters in a Different Kind of War During an Era of Evolving National Security Challenges

摘要

The global security environment facing our Army is fundamentally more challenging than anything we have confronted in our Nation's history. We must now be able to protect against a much broader range of threats, including terrorism, non-state actors with access to advanced weaponry and technology, and adversaries' use of ballistic and cruise missiles. All of these threats could result in significant casualties and social upheaval. The potential use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist organizations is an area of particular concern. Current and potential adversaries often attempt to operate at the extremes of the conflict spectrum. At one end of the spectrum, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is actively pursuing nuclear weapons capabilities. In July 2006, North Korea test-fired one intercontinental and multiple short range ballistic missiles. Their subsequent test of a nuclear warhead in October 2006 made the missile tests even more alarming. More recently, in May and June 2007, North Korea also launched multiple short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan. Similarly, Iran's history of deception, concealment, and obfuscation regarding their nuclear research efforts and ongoing enrichment of uranium as part of an apparent nuclear weapons development program have been of great concern to the international community. Iran's state support of terrorism, most notably Hezbollah and Hamas, and arms shipments to both Iraq's Shiite extremists and Afghanistan's Taliban are also of concern.