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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Quote of the other day: End of an era

From the CNAS policypalooza earlier this month: Former Pentagon policy official Jim Thomas, looking at the growing "anti-access" problem, especially in the Western Pacific, said, "We may be entering what may be called the ‘post-power projection’ era." He noted that this means it likely is going to be harder to deploy and operate in traditional ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images
TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images
TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images

From the CNAS policypalooza earlier this month: Former Pentagon policy official Jim Thomas, looking at the growing "anti-access" problem, especially in the Western Pacific, said, "We may be entering what may be called the 'post-power projection' era." He noted that this means it likely is going to be harder to deploy and operate in traditional modes. And so we may need to think about a very different force, with lower signatures, smaller footprints, less logistical support, and relying far more on alternative energies.

From the CNAS policypalooza earlier this month: Former Pentagon policy official Jim Thomas, looking at the growing "anti-access" problem, especially in the Western Pacific, said, "We may be entering what may be called the ‘post-power projection’ era." He noted that this means it likely is going to be harder to deploy and operate in traditional modes. And so we may need to think about a very different force, with lower signatures, smaller footprints, less logistical support, and relying far more on alternative energies.

That’s a pretty sweeping order. I suspect Thomas is going to wind up in high places at the Pentagon and/or White House, so the services might want to begin thinking about this sooner rather than later. 

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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