Events Detail

The Long War Ahead and the Short War Upon Us: Imperfect Civilization, Perfect Barbarism and WMD Terror

Please note that this event was held at the Discovery Institute

Today's rhetoric surrounding the War on Terror has focused exclusively on a "long war" against radical Islamists. In his new book, John Wohlstetter argues that there are two separate wars that we are fighting, each with its own unique challenges.

The Long War against radical Islamist ideology will last generations, but there's also a Short War focused on the prevention of a weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD) catastrophe. We have, Wohlstetter writes, failed to invest enough human and material resources to give ourselves the best chance to prevail. The only thing we cannot afford in a war of survival is to lose, and "even a single large-scale WMD event will make any foregone security investment seem cheap by comparison," Wohlstetter writes.

John Wohlstetter is a Senior Fellow for technology and society with the Discovery Institute and a Trustee of Hudson Institute. Prior to joining Discovery Institute in 2001, he served as director of technology affairs for GTE Corporation, where he was responsible for strategic assessment of technology, regulatory, and market trends.   

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For more information, send name and affiliation to Ioannis Saratsis at isaratsis@hudson.org or 202.974.2403