Symmetrical warfare in a asymmetrical world

"You name it, we have it! A knock down, drag out military with the latest and greatest weapons!"

One of the biggest knocks I have heard about our military as of late is we have spend most of our dollars developing a stockpile of hi-tech weapons to fight a symmetrical war. And yes, we might have one some day with Iran, North Korea, Russia or even China. But many, myself included, believe the next war will be a continuation of our current war - the War on Terror. And that war is far from symmetrical. It is a classic case of asymmetrical warfare.

So what the heck is really meant my asymmetrical warfare? Simply put, it is warfare of the weak against the strong. Therefore, mostly unconventional methods are used. In the War on Terror, the weak (ISIL and Al Qaeda) will use just about anything to inflict damage or injury on the strong (us). If hostilities broke out between Russia and the United States, and it was aircraft carrier against aircraft carrier, that would pretty much be a case of symmetrical warfare. In other words, the strong against the strong. Evenly matched.

Well, even with the military loathing cadre who seem to have filtered all the way through our Administration, somehow the band has played on. In other words, the Military Industrial Complex IKE warned us about is in full swing. For example, we have new two new ship classes in the Navy. We have the Littoral (fighting close to shore) Ship Class which looks like something out of a science fiction novel. We have the Zumwalt Class DDG which looks even spookier than the Littoral Class. However, both new ship classes are bristling with the latest and greatest VLS and stealth technology. In addition, both new ship classes were designed to do more with less crew involved.

On the air side, the mills are busy putting out the new F-35 Lightening Joint Strike Fighter. This plane, along with the F-22 Raptor, stand ready to rule the skies against just about anything. Both new planes will give us total air superiority in the skies. But the question begs to be asked - against whom? The United States wants to buy almost 2,500 of the very hi-tech F-35 Lightenings. And that is on top of already buying 187 F-22 Raptors.

So we are ready to take on all comers. Bring it on! Well, that is of course except for suicide bombers sneaking across our southern border. Or someone sneaking a bomb on an aircraft. Or someone beheading one of our citizens in a public forum. No, for some reason unbeknownst to many of us, we are ready for the strong yet remain vulnerable to the weak.

It will be interesting to see how things pan out after the 2016 election. There are more and more people who have grown very tired of the War on Terror. Of the genocide going on overseas. Of terror states like Iran getting away with murder. In the next Administration, I would really like to see our Defense Department act to defend our country. And that means ensuring asymmetrical warfare never happens on our shores again. Period. Never.