"I think we have already entered the next World War," said Col. John Alexander, the main guest of Tuesday's program, and the author of Winning the War(1): Advanced Weapons, Strategies, and Concepts for the Post-9/11 World. Alexander believes what he calls "World War X" began with the US response to 9-11. We have achieved something "Islam has not succeeded in doing in the last 1300 years," and that's uniting their separate factions," he argued.

To win the war on terror, Alexander suggested a three-step program, geared to eliminate the finances that fuel terrorism: legalize drugs, devalue diamonds, and scrutinize financial transactions. Alternatively, he advocated changing the "energy paradigm," i.e. switching from oil-based energy, and also "weaponizing space," which he said needed to be done quickly before other countries do so first.

Next generation military weaponry such as Directed Energy systems have not lived up to their promise Alexander concluded. But he believes that better intelligence through new sensor systems that provide ground penetration actually offers a bigger bang for the buck.

1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/031230675X/ctoc

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Bumper music from Tuesday September 02, 2003