Goodbye to Land Warfare? No, Says Controversial New Study
Goodbye to Land Warfare? No, Says Controversial New Study by Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian
The Future of Land Warfare, by Michael O’Hanlon of the Washington-based Brookings thinktank, is an antidote to conventional wisdom. The author refers to “the supposed obsolescene of large-scale ground combat”, reflected in official American policy and defence reviews.
He concludes that the size of the US army, which some commentators – notably senior members of other branches of the armed forces – want to slash should stay where it is now: about 500,000 active duty soldiers and 550,000 reservists.
They should have the capability to wage one major “all-out regional battle” while “contributing substantially” to two multiyear, multilateral, operations.
Though O’Hanlon’s arguments are directly mainly at the US, they can apply easily to other Nato members. European countries with the biggest armies are imposing significant cuts…
