HLS 6010 DF5 Comment on Elizabeth Fatolitis Discussion

Please comment on these 2 postings with 3 references each:
Elizabeth Fatolitis 
Discussion Five
COLLAPSE
This week I chose an article written by Robert Beckhusen titled, “U.S. Army We Have No Idea How to Wage War in Megacities”. This article starts by painting the future picture of how cities like Shanghai and New York will have double their current populations by the middle of the 21st century. The author then asks the question “how does the United States Army control a city of this size?”. The answer is that they can’t, at least not yet.
Researchers from the Megacity Concept Team visited the world megacities, any city having a population of 10 million or more, to analyze how they might fight a war inside a megacity filled with a large population and high-rise buildings. The Army believes it is only a matter of time before a war is fought in one of these cities. Beckhusen states:
“To simplify why the U.S. is having trouble, because the way the Army normally plans for urban war is similar to how it plans for war everywhere else. This is generally by having the approaching – or attacking – element attempt to shape its environment in order to gain tactical, operational, and strategic surprise and advantage over its foe. This forces the enemy to react to your moves, rather than the other way around.”
It is unrealistic to think that the massive size of a megacity can be surrounded by any military force. The military wouldn’t be able to control the population or communications. In this day and age, it is rare to find someone in a large city that doesn’t have a cell phone. Beyond controlling the masses, it would be nearly impossible for a military vehicle to move in a congested city. Currently, there are no solutions or recommendations, just solutions on how to “control the unimaginably huge cities of the future”.
I believe this article is a great addition to our reading this week “A New Kind of Battlefield Awaits the U.S. Military – Megacities”. In our reading it states “military missions even in relatively small built-up areas are inherently complex endeavors. Buildings and masses of people can provide cover and concealment to hostile actors in their operations”. I think is important to tackling this issue now. To start thinking about how we can train the military and intelligence officers to operate in megacities.
A new kind of battlefield awaits the U.S. military – megacities. (2016). Retrieved July 31, 2016, from http://blogs(dot)reuters(dot)com/great-debate/2016/04/06/is-the-u-s-military-prepared-to-fight-in-megacities/
U.S. Army: We Have No Idea How to Wage War in Megacities. (2014). Retrieved July 31, 2016, from http://www(dot)offiziere(dot)ch/?p=16986
Douglas Mahoney 
Week 5 Discussion
COLLAPSE
For this week’s article, I found The Growing Threat of ISIS Unleashing a Weapon of Mass Destruction, by James Phillips and Brooke Branson, an interesting and relevant reading to this week’s material. The article informs us that due to ISIS’ apocalyptic ideology, the organization is actively seeking materials to make a weapon of mass destruction instead of using a weapon of immediate means such as guns or a suicide bomber like other terrorist organizations. Phillips and Branson inform us that 10 grams of radioactive isotope have gone missing “which Iraq authorities fear may have fallen into the hands of ISIS” (Phillips, Branson, 2016). The authors state, “The radioactive isotope was stolen in November from a storage facility in the southern city of al-Zubair, which is more than 300 miles away from ISIS-controlled territory. But ISIS had launched attacks nearby” (Phillips, Branson, 2016). The article informs us that ISIS had declared its intentions to develop weapons of mass destruction and dirty bombs. However, many people are more concerned with ISIS’ ability to use chemical weapons. “CIA director John Brennan told CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday that ISIS has detonated chemical munitions on battlefields in Iraq and Syria… In November, U.S. and Iraqi intelligence officials warned ISIS had established a branch to aggressively develop chemical weapons with the help of scientists from Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere” (Phillips, Branson, 2016).
This use and development of chemical weapons is obviously a major concern for countries around the world. A small amount of a chemical agent could have devastating effects on a large population if turned into a weapon. There is a lot of uncertainty in the article about what actual materials the organization has and how advanced their technology and methods are for constructing weapons. However, we cannot overlook the fact that the organization is actively trying to gather materials and information to make weapons of mass destruction, and they will not hesitate to use those weapons against their enemies.
References:
Phillips, J., & Branson, B. (2016, February 19). The Growing Threat of ISIS Unleashing a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Retrieved August 01, 2016, from http://dailysignal(dot)com/2016/02/19/the-growing-threat-of-isis-unleashing-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction/