The Ongoing 5th Generation Of War

by NC Scout | Jun 23, 2020 |
The Ongoing 5th Generation Of War

Riots.

Monuments to our National history being toppled.

Pilars of security forces being undermined, corrupted, and defunded.

Sound familiar? In a nutshell, this is a brief summation of the past several weeks of headlines. Or is it? I would argue that this is the fourth act in the tragedy of the United States. We’re not quite in Act V, but for certain, we’ve got a front row seat to the play.

Many, professional pundits and amateur observers alike, are arguing whether or not what we’re seeing is an insurgency and if so, exactly what stage we’re in. This is problematic- we are indeed in an insurgency, but not the insurgencies of Iraq or Afghanistan. We’re in one much deeper, more sinister and far more dangerous.

The color revolution playing out in the streets of the US today, from the rampant lawlessness to the overhead political-legal cover ensuring this insurgency’s survival, is more properly known as the Fifth Generation of Warfare (5GW). Unlike 4GW, which blends guerrilla warfare with the weaponization of media coverage for political use, 5GW is defined by US Army Major Shannon Beebe as “… a vortex of violence, a free-for-all of surprise destruction motivated more by frustration than by any coherent plans for the future. 5GW is what happens when the world’s disaffected direct their desperation at the most obvious symbol of everything they lack.”

Certainly sounds like that definition fits today’s conflict, albeit far too simplistic. 5GW is the mobilization of the mass base into mob violence, with an inherent strategic goal of overwhelming an established authority through collective action. To the outsider’s view, the violence incurred may appear incoherent and without a long term goal; this is a ruse. There absolutely is a long term goal. It also leaves out the very substantial infrastructure which allows the mass base to mobilize unimpeded. Further, the planning for such warfare is generations deep. The groundwork for what we’re seeing today began long ago as defined by Antonio Gramsci’s long march through the institutions– gaining first control of academia to later gain control of every other institution to which academic bona fides serves as a gatekeeper. As Abbott noted in the Handbook of Fifth Generation Warfare “Information warfare can accomplish strategic, operational, and tactical objectives, while not doing measurable damage that the target can identify. An important aspect of 5GW may have the target not even know it’s under attack, thus the target has already lost that battle.” And indeed- the US has been under attack for generations now, sedated by bread and circuses, rotted from the inside, and too weak to even shut off the flow of EBT cards and Section 8 housing to the illiterate masses mobilized by the revolutionary forces.

Of course, the same thinkers (with careers at stake) would disagree. As Major Beebe would comment on how to win,

So how do you beat a fifth-gen enemy? By not fighting, first of all. Beebe says ending the vortex of violence in Africa means alleviating “the conditions of human beings that create these insecurities across state borders.” In other words, focus on economic development, humanitarian assistance and communication, with nary an M-16 or Abrams tank in sight.

In Coer’s words, “success will vary inversely to exported violence.”

This answer doesn’t apply to the United States. Such a solution is hinged solely upon the implementation of foreign aid- in short, we created your economic problem, your people revolted (which we helped them do) and now you’ll give us whatever economic goals we want, to make all this go away. Domestically, the decades of zero return on investment welfare has proven this doesn’t work. There is no making these people happy. This also leaves out the monumental role that social media plays. The electronic domain is now a major component of the new battlefield and one that big tech believes they’re winning; to a certain degree, they are. As long as one side continues to use their mediums, it maintains their legitimacy. And as long as another owns the infrastructure, they indeed dictate the terms of service. It is a dirty war across all domains and one that utilizes non-state actors on part of factions within the State itself. You are in a Civil War, now, and have been for some time. It’s only ‘cold’ for one side.

Simultaneously however, the visible presence of security forces is expensive, messy, and presents a no-win scenario. This is a war of the shadows and not one that can be fought on fair terms. In a world that justifies and defends pedophilia and the murder of the unborn, jurisprudence becomes irrelevant. A political activist in a robe can define what is legal. They cannot point to what is moral.

Indeed, the US finds itself in a precarious situation. It is the only nation with the size and might of a nuclear arsenal the likes of which the world has never seen which is well on the path to self destruction. And who stands to gain? China is the major player with an ostensible goal of removing the US from the world stage. It is logical to conclude then that they are at the heart of this 5th Generation War- one started by the Soviets only for the Red Chinese to finish.

What comes next?