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Asymmetrical Warfare: Today's Challenge to U. S. Military Power Roger W. Barnett. Dulles, VA: Brassey's, 2003. 183 pp. Bib. Index. $39.95.
Since 1997, historians and strategists have written articles about asymmetric warfare. This form of conflict is, however, not new. Since biblical times, opponents have tried to think, organize, equip, and train to take advantage of enemies' weaknesses. When David slew Goliath, he used his own strength against Goliath's shortcoming-an asymmetric approach to battle. Today, asymmetries occur at all levels of war, from the tactical to the operational to the strategic. War remains what it has always been: the struggle to compel an enemy to bend to one's will. What is new is how we describe asymmetric warfare. If there is any doubt what the asymmetries of modern warfare are, Roger Barnett's concise and penetrating study, Asymmetrical Warfare, highlights the effects of operational, organizational, legal, and moral constraints on the ability of the U.S. military to...