The Economist's Digest 7

Brains, not bullets
(Originally from The Economist Oct.21~27, 2007)
Summary:
What’s controversial is the construction in American army. The problem is what will threat the USA and what kind of the arm force it needs.
Future form of the army may cut in popularity but emphasize the technical device in soldiers’ weapons and clothes, making all the soldiers as strong as robots. However, the incidents related to armies of America in Iraq make us can’t help but think they’re just able to destroy things but they can’t build them back.
Nevertheless, there’s still one can do it. A successor in Iraq war said,” Technological tricks aren’t being abandoned, and once the powerful American armies fight against the old ones, we may have to get a long-term war which may embarrass us.”
On the other hand, the American armies with good device may not do well in building the war-damaged region, which needs brains and patient. Some say the soldiers should be trained to be smarter.
As the American armies become better, people started to think that it should be used in a proper purpose, not for interrupting other countries’ business. Being hard for advanced device to fight guerrillas(游擊隊) in far-away places, there’s few insurgencies(暴動) that can be stopped by Western power. Moreover, concerns of human rights make it difficult for arm force from foreign countries to go into other countries. Thus, ask for local forces’ help is a better way to deal the problem in Iraq.
The conclusion is that we should cut on old device and develop new one to face the possible conflict with China and Russia (for USA) and it must cost a lot.

What I think:
After all, cooperation is the most important! Wars in future tend to be more technological and the cost of in must be higher and higher, so taxpayers must be unwilling to see their money spend on stupid soldiers.
Future cause of conflict may be the difference in culture and thoughts between nations, but the resource problem is still an old one. The troops mentioned above are to deal with the new one.
If wars in Iraq break and expand, the price of oil must fly to the top. The USA must be careful of it.