Our speaker examined why the U.S. military had, at times, faced significant adversity and fallen short of achieving its strategic objectives in the decades since World War II. He discussed his concept of “swarm tactics,” in which network-organized groups operate without a traditional hierarchical structure and can disperse in ways similar to terrorist networks.

He argued that a network-structured military was better suited to confront such groups and also addressed cyber warfare, preemptive war, and NSA wiretapping as counterterrorism methods. The presentation was especially timely in light of U.S. experiences in Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq.