Security expert says others'
resentment,
jealousy will pose threat to U.S.
By Sandra Jontz, Washington bureau
ANNAPOLIS,
Md. — Resentment and jealousy on the part of other nations will be the United
States’ biggest national security concern for the coming decades, said a security
expert.
The
antipathy could lead to attacks with weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical or
biological warfare, or more likely by "weapons of mass disruption," such as
computer attacks, said retired Air Force Gen. Charles Boyd, executive director for the
U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century.
"We
learned from our travels of the world that a lot of people are resentful of the
U.S.," Boyd told members of United States Naval Institute gathered here Wednesday for
their annual meeting.
The nation
already has experienced the near-debilitating effects of computer viruses that disrupt
systems and have sent waves of panic through the technology world.
Terrorists
and rogue nations seeking to harm the United States know that vulnerability and easily
could facilitate an attack, Boyd said.
The
14-member commission, chartered in 1998 and made up of military personnel, ambassadors,
civilian contractors, the press and former members of Congress, spent a bulk of its
mission traveling to 28 countries to measure sentiments toward America.
The panel
recently gave its report to Congress and the White House, and members currently are
testifying in hearings on Capitol Hill.
"There’s
more excitement than I thought there’d be," said Boyd, who as a general served
as vice commander of Strategic Air Command’s 8th Air Force, as director of plans at
Air Force headquarters and commander of Air University.
The United
States isn’t as popular worldwide as once thought, Boyd said.
America
will remain the principal military power in the world through 2025, and will stay strong
economically, politically and culturally, Boyd said. Its leaders will help in
"shaping the international environment" during the coming decades and can’t
afford to go wrong, he added.
Though the
panel focused on national security issues, it also made predictions. It reported that the
world will rely more and more on science and technology, and fossil fuels will remain the
world’s energy supply.
Both
factors will be key in determining how and why nations will engage in conflicts and wars,
he said.
Governments
won’t be the sole world shapers, the panel concluded. The future also will be bent by
the growth of nongovernmental organizations, such as refugee aid organizations and
religious, ethnic and environmental advocacy groups.
When
addressing the issue of national security, Boyd said the panel concluded U.S. leaders need
to slightly shift focus from foreign affairs to homeland defense.
"America
will become increasingly vulnerable to hostile attacks on our homeland, and our military
superiority will not entirely protect us," reads a portion of the report.
Though the
United States will remain the world’s superpower, Americans, both civilian and in the
military, will be vulnerable to attacks both within its borders and overseas, Boyd said.
"States,
terrorists and other disaffected groups will acquire weapons of mass destruction and mass
disruption, and some will use them," the report reads. "Americans will likely
die on American soil, possibly in large numbers."
The panel
predicted technology will divide the world as much as draw it together, creating "a
transnational cyberclass of people."
"An
antitechnology backlash is possible, and even likely, as the adoption of emerging
technologies creates new moral, cultural and economic divisions," the panelists
wrote.
It
won’t be just shores and land at risk, they said. Nations will continue to compete
for use of outer space for both commercial and military purposes. They will use space for
global communication, reconnaissance and placement of weapons.
"Despite
the proliferation of highly sophisticated and remote means of attack, the essence of war
will remain the same," the panelists wrote. "There will be casualties, carnage
and death; it will not be like a video game."
Back to April's stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
