Deputy Defense Secretary Robert 0. Work, speaking in November, said the Defense Department must maintain its competitive edge, and may be able to, with new systems and operating concepts, employing what he's dubbed a "third offset" strategy. In the 1950s, he pointed out, the US overcame the conventional advantage of the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons. In the 1970s, the second offset was an investment in revolutionary technology such as stealth, miniaturized electronics, precision navigation, and precision weapons. "It turned out to be a wonderful strategy," he said. "We've ridden it now for about 40 years." Today, however, "everyone is duplicating our second offset strategy," with the result that all the tools that gave the US such a lopsided victory in the 1991 Gulf War and military dominance since are widely available.
展开▼
