Conclusions

The most powerful evidence that we are in a time of historic change is that the trends that are in play in technology, and their resulting effects on the world, are so diverse that they can be a bit overwhelming. Their challenge is not merely that they ripple out in so many different directions, but that we are simply not in a position yet to answer many of the questions that they raise, especially for a realm so prone to uncertainty as war. But that is okay to admit. As Werner Herzog sagely put it, "Sometimes a deep question is better than a straight answer.”¹

In such a time of massive change, those that choose to stand still, ignore the trends, and not adjust appropriately, are making a choice with their inaction.

Yet, in all this uncertainty, there is one key takeaway lesson that this survey of the technology and its potential effect on counterinsurgency does seem to provide: In such a time of massive change, those that choose to stand still, ignore the trends, and not adjust appropriately, are making a choice with their inaction. They are choosing to lose the wars of tomorrow.