Robert W. White
The nature of global confrontation has fundamentally changed. It is now evident that the primary instrument of national power is the power of the national narrative; its foundation: diplomacy, information, military and economics (DIME). From the deception plans of the American Revolutionary War to the integration of space, cyberspace, drones and artificial intelligence (AI), the US military’s capabilities have evolved, but our core structures for manning and employing them have not kept pace. From the halls of academia to the front lines of statecraft, a clear consensus has emerged: we are in a persistent, global war of narratives. This is a battle of “narratives,” where adversaries seek to break beliefs, shape perceptions, sow division, and achieve their objectives before a single shot is fired.
This call for change is not novel; it echoes a growing sentiment within professional military education advocating for “a return to information warfare” as a primary, not supporting, effort. This is the true nature of “gray zone” confrontation as it allows adversaries to avoid direct conflicts with the well-resourced US Department of War, a murky battlespace where ambiguity is a weapon, the line between peace and war is deliberately blurred, and our policies, systems, processes, and bureaucracy are exploited by our adversaries.
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