The New Generation of War

Defense expert Chet Richards on Lebanon, Iraq, and the future of the American military

Jesse Walker | July 20, 2006

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Reason: Do you see them losing a big war anytime soon?

CR: Nope.

I think transformation is a cruel joke, not just on the U.S. taxpayer but on members of the military, many of whom are really trying hard to make it work.

Reason: So do you feel like you're writing science fiction? Or do you think the change is going to come from some direction, you just can't predict where?

CR: I think it's the latter. What's going on today just can't go on.

It's like working for General Motors 10 or 15 years ago. The handwriting was on the wall. Their market share was starting to come down. Their quality was still terrible. Their costs were going through the roof. You might not have predicted that it would be Toyota that finally shoved you over the brink. You just knew that you were eventually going to open up a big enough hole that somebody was going to walk through it.

General Motors is not going to make it. But thank God for Toyota. As General Motors goes down and outsources more U.S. jobs overseas, Toyota is insourcing more jobs into the United States. It and other companies that have adopted the Toyota type production system are building better cars—faster, cheaper, quieter, more fuel-efficient.

Reason: So can I quote you as saying Al Qaeda is the Toyota of the military-industrial complex?

CR: Probably more like the Yugo.