Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America

This is a useful book to read. The principles of warfare advocated by Sun Tzu say that you must know both yourself and your enemy. This book shows that modern American society is known by the Chinese military. As an exercise in cultural self-understanding alone, reading it pays dividends.However, the topic is strategy. The words used can be relatively confusing at times, not quite embodying the meaning given to them by the authors. Unlimited...but within limits. Unrestricted...but following rules. It can be a bit of a struggle to follow their train of thought and understand their meaning (especially with the writing style, which lacks clarity or organization). To be honest, I still have no idea what "the elephant" is which is (apparently) being touched.The main point: the United States is prone to think in a manner which intrinsically restricts the conduct of warfare to only a formal military domain; thus it abstracts military action from its location in social domains (politics, economy, information, etc). This fits rather well. We like things to be formulas or mechanistic. We also like to abstract them away into separate ("rigidly distinct") boxes which have no interaction. And so, the military is responsible for military problems and better stay far from anything approaching politics! However, as the authors reveal, this leads to an inability to conduct grander strategy in warfare.So instead: "unrestricted" warfare is to have strategy incorporate considerations (and interactions) within various domains, not only the military domain. Basically it is a rejection of the post-Westphalian concept of the nation-state as the supreme (and exclusive) kind of agent in strategy. This is good. The post-Westphalian idea of the nation-state may be useful in certain contexts and for certain purposes, but it is NOT the comprehensive reality of the universe. To treat it as such is to be blind to much of reality, and to live in a fantasy world. Does North Korea really care that it is "unrecognized" as a nation by us? Nope. Because the nation-state idea simply doesn't describe the order in which NK exists, so much as it describes the order in which Germany exists.This is all well and good. But is it truly revolutionary or new? I don't think so. Clausewitz himself writes that there is no military situation abstracted from the political situation, and politics (in this sense) involves much more than just inter-governmental relations. Rather, I think that we can treat this as a corrective against modern American oversimplifications and reductions, and thus as a "return" to older concepts of strategy and statesmanship.And here is where the rhetoric is overblown. This is no "mast plan" to destroy America (false advertising). It's not even really new concepts. Rather, it is a forceful reminder against the false (and harmful) modernist sentiments that prevail in America's mode of conducting warfare.There are many lessons to be learned from this book. I'd advise it for all military officers to read. However, I also would advise to temper the expectations and reframe the reader's conception of what the book is: it is an exercise in recovery of some older strategic concepts, not a revolutionary approach to destroying the United States. Get past and ignore the rhetoric and advertising, and take the lessons where they make valid points about where we can be short-sighted in our mindset. But don't discount those lessons because of the wild rhetoric and advertising which surround them. Doing this, you will profit.

This book is purported to be a translation of China’s Masterplan to Destroy America written by two Colonels in the People’s Liberation Army in 1999. There is reason, but not confirmed, to doubt this. The authors of the book are clearly Chinese. Whether or not the authors are Colonels in the PLA, I feel, is in doubt, as such a plan would never be available to Western sources as quickly as it was after drafting.The book is no “master plan.” It is a discussion of modern warfare strategy written by readers of the worldwide military strategy publications. Most of the publications have been in the United States and China. The cover of this book is misleading with the statement, “Wake up, America.” This book should be little interest to the non-military American. But it should be read by anyone with potential requirements for field grade service (Major and above,) or higher (and equivalent strategy levels in the Marines, Air Force, and Navy.) As far as “Wake Up,” I can recall discussions about strategy that contained most of the information provided within the book as a staff field grade officer in the US Army. While as military officers, we need to be aware of these issues, we are not entirely ignorant of them. The book provides a somewhat different perspective of the issues from a Chinese viewpoint.The first point the authors make, how technology precedes its best employment in warfare. Most of the technology discussed concerns the information processing capabilities of both computers and software. It is more than computerized warfare. A large part of this is based on the technology to US Forces but not entirely. Part of the problem with technology is that mankind becomes so used to using technology to solve today’s problems that previous methods of solving problems are lost. Thus, if the technology can be crippled, it represents an exploitable weakness in war.The second point made, is that the military forces now must consider nonmilitary actions if it is to be effective in both defense and offense. Warfare developed from point battlefields (using swords, knives, etc.,) to linear battlefields (using machine guns and artillery,) to area battlefields, to 3D battlefields (using aircraft and missiles,) to modern infinite-dimensional battlefields which include space, electromagnetic spectrums, and civilian actions. If one can start a war in a computer room or a stock exchange, is there a non-battle space anywhere? Warfare that transcends military boundaries is “unrestricted warfare.” A “kinder warfare” with critical attacks that take no lives is now possible. Technology is providing a means to attack and enemy’s nerve centers without directly harming anything else. Such nerve centers exist in an enemy’s financial systems, their economic systems, their environmental systems, their public media systems, their political systems, their power and energy systems, and their logistics centers.A third point made is that coalitions of disparate forces, internationally, nationally, and military, are formed and broken very quickly, as quickly as within 24 hours! For example, in Desert Storm, the United States weaved together more than 30 nations in various roles. The author’s prescient comment foresaw the alignments that occurred immediately following the 9/11 attack, although this was after the book was written and not available to the authors to use as an example. There was also unity of command established. This, the authors say, stemmed from the US DoD Reorganization Act passed by Congress in 1986. All of the air forces and naval forces were under General Schwartzkopf despite the desires of the individual forces to operate independently. The air tasking order (a 300-page document) drafted in joint sessions by the Air Force, Navy and Marines, had to be approved by General Schwartzkopf before commands were issued to the various forces. The Kuwaiti Invasion Plan that the Marines wanted was put off in favor of the plan that General Schwartzkopf endorsed. Media personnel were incorporated into the military units but controlled with definitions of release timing and content.A fourth point is that Americans want wars which achieve its national interests while having no causalities. This promotes an over-reliance on technology and an unwillingness to support prolonged war. Americans have a blind faith in technology always thinking that the road to victory is with the highest technology weapons. American military budgets are based largely on the acquisition of expensive weapon systems, and little thought given to their integrated use within the military services. American military theory is behind (consistent with point one above.) But the overriding goal is victory without casualties. Thus, the authors recommend that the secret to war with America is to kill its rank and file soldiers.The style of the book is somewhat elliptical: it is written in the Chinese manner which often dances around a subject before coming to its subject. For example, there is a discussion of the Golden Ratio (1:0.618) before the authors show how it can be found in various ancient and modern military operations. There is considerable Chinese military philosophy discussed including the 36 Strategies, which most American military readers have not encountered ( did not at West Point when I was a Cadet studying Chinese!) I first encountered these after a reference from a Chinese Professor while I was teaching in China and then read Sun Tzu in Chinese. Sun Tzu was not the original author of these. In my personal opinion, an English translation this short book should be required reading for all Cadets at West Point.I rate the book 3 stars for several reasons. I don’t feel the book is well written. Many of the references are transliterations of the author’s names in Chinese which do not read as the real names. At this time, the book is somewhat dated having been written in 1999. I also doubt the attribution of the source and authors of the book. The concepts presented in the book are worth thinking about for a person developing military strategies.

I have started reading this book and its an easy read and very infromative

Si me gusto.

The CCP will laugh loudest about the fact that not even a book sold on the most popular "American" website was enough to prevent the stupid people in the west from financing their own demise. When the Chinese have stolen your wealth and the military boot smashes your jaw, maybe then you will realize what the actual price was. Good luck America

Great perspective. Forget media talking heads for profit. This book reveals a strategy for China’s recognition on the international stage and economic and political strength using primarily non-kinetic forms of national power.

Wonder what’s happening to America? Read this book, it will open your eyes.

This is an analysis of what really happened in Iraq I from the communist China viewpoint. One point really stands out, to me, Iraq I made very wide use of helicopters. The authors say that since Iraq I, the helicopter has been somewhat forgotten. This is not an unexpected result of our military strategic thinking. The upper generals in the Army primarily come from armor, artillery, or infantry. As such each of these high-level general favors their own branch of the Army. We have to see what happens in the next war

These visionary military officers theorised how to make an end run around the current geopolitical hegemonic power with unrestricted watefare, extending the battlefield into culture, media, biological cyber and outer space. Current events suggest this is no longer mere theory and the method seems to be working.

An interesting book which gives a very clear insight into PLA thought and intentions, we have been warned. I felt I was in the late 1937 reading Heinz Guderian’s ‘Achtung - Panzer!’ at times. I hope the decision makers in the democracies are paying attention and not asleep at the helm as they were then?

Wars have taken on a whole new arena and the rules of engagement have changed forever ,today's war will not look remotely like tomorrow's war ,but one fact is irrefutable and that is the fact that people will die ,whether by military means or the effects of economic sanctions.

Really interesting book. Can be heavy reading at times so I had to be in the mood for it. Definitely makes you think about what’s happening in the world behind the scenes.

A book on military strategy written in 1999 by two colonels in the People's Liberation Army, Qiao Liang (乔良) and Wang Xiangsui (王湘穗). Its primary concern is how a nation such as China can defeat a technologically superior opponent, such as the United States, through a variety of means. Rather than focusing on direct military confrontation, this book instead examines a variety of other means including economic warfare, hacking and other strategies.A must read for anyone wanting to understand China's political leaders' mindset.