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DTIC ADA448575: East Meets West: A Combined Approach to Studying War and Strategy in the 21st Century

In a world with no true balance of power, where the United States, a unipolar military power, dominates the world stage, it can be argued that all future wars involving the United States will be asymmetrical. If the irregular, unconventional, and asymmetric are today's convention, the United States needs to reexamine and broaden its familiarly with components from both the Western and Eastern schools of war theory. Throughout its history, the United States has relied largely on Western, European-based war theories (specifically, Clausewitz, and to a lesser extent, Jomini) for the foundations of its war strategy. Components of these Western theories are still important to the strategist. These theories do not, however, focus adequate attention on the unconventional small war operations the nation faces now and will face in the future. This paper examines two Western theories of war in light of the new world situation, examining both their enduring concepts as well as their shortcomings in today's globalized landscape. It further examines the current (and future) world landscapes and how these changed and changing landscapes make it critical to reexamine how the United States views a

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