ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications of military change, Asian growth and European austerity for United States defence policy. It outlines the current state of US defence policy in the context of US domestic politics and economics to provide context. The chapter examines military change, which has been a major factor in the United States for more than a decade. It discusses the effect of Asian growth on US defence policy. The chapter describes the impact of European austerity on the transatlantic alliance and the implications for the United States. It focuses on whether cyber warfare is truly a major new type of warfare or merely' a major development that expands on the traditional capabilities of SIGINT, covert action and electronic warfare. Austerity may provide a forcing function for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to prioritize the development of integrated Special Operations Force (SOF) that in turn will be able to leverage US capital assets.
