Offensive Strategy In Cyberspace Being Pushed By Senior Military Officials

September 8, 2008 7:37 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Senior military officials want Pentagon to be offensive, not defensive, when it comes to the war in cyberspace. Instead of focusing on the U.S. defending its electronic security from foreign hacking, it should develop the capability to attack the computer systems of other countries.

Among the know-how that the U.S. must develop further are commandeering unmanned aerial drones of enemies, disabling enemy war aircraft in mid-air and cutting off electricity at precise moments in strategic locations like military bases, but it should spare humanitarian institutions such as hospitals.

The new National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations, declassified this year, was the green light the military was waiting to broaden its capabilities.

Michael Wynne, former Air Force Secretary, acknowledged to the Los Angeles Times, "As we go forward in time, cyber is going to be a very important part of our war-fighting tactics, techniques and procedures."

It was under Wynne's command that the U.S. Air Force established a provisional Cyber Command in 2007 and included functioning in the cyber domain as part of its mission statement. However, he had a falling out with superiors over the Air Force's approach to cyberspace and was given his marching orders in June.

The cyber capability that Wynne envisioned was for the military to develop advanced methods that it could routinely launch an air strike at a target, and at the same time, use an electronic attack to disable the defense of its enemy and spread disinformation. "It isn't jut about protecting your networks... It is about having a soldier with an invasive tool he can fire at an antenna, and put some information into it, and from there do some damage," Wynne explained to the LA Times.

In July, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for a shift in the country's new defense strategy from conventional warfare to irregular warfare. "The most important military component of the struggle against violent extremists is not the fighting we do ourselves, but how well we help prepare our partners to defend and govern themselves." Gates told the Washington Post.