Warfare Will Change in Information Age.

• Position: Brief Article

National security leaders are struggling with the problem of how to fight wars in the new Information Age. "Winning (or preventing) the conflicts of tomorrow will increasingly depend on how effectively the military can exploit the new intangibles," futurists Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler indicated to the World Future Society, Bethesda, Md.

The military's "intangibles" include the power of software, the ability to collect and disseminate information, and the capacity to cripple an opponent's information technology. Today's military strategists don't know exactly how to mobilize or protect these new intangibles effectively, just as most business leaders still are looking for ways to profit from information technology in the marketplace. Assessing new technologies--like satellite-based tactical intelligence--is just one of the challenges that military planners face.

The already strong influence of the media on public perception and foreign policy is likely to grow, the Tofflers point out. The power of Internet technology could make everyone a potential media producer on a global scale. The military would not be able to control such one-to-one customized communication.

Another slippery...