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In his 38 years as a soldier in theaters from the Middle East to Europe, the Special Operations Command commander said he never had to look up. But those days are coming to an end.
“I should never have seen it because the US has always maintained air superiority,” Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke said during a discussion Friday at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado. “We don’t always have that luxury,” he added.
Low-cost quadcopters and large drones are disrupting the situation as militaries and militants rely on them, the general said.
“When Russia runs out of them for Ukraine and they go to Iran to buy more. [that] It should worry us all a little because you can see how valuable they will be in the fight ahead.
U.S. and allied forces are focused on how to defeat enemy aircraft after flight, but Clark said there is a need for discussion among the cyber elements that prevent aircraft from taking off by disrupting supply chains.
But first, there should be a discussion about the rules and authorities for their use, he said. Because of the “very low” cost of entry for some small drone systems, the general said, some countries may want to use drones to move patients or supplies. Medical transport vehicles are protected by the Geneva Conventions.
Chemical, biological weapons
Clarke said the Defense Department charged Socom with looking at another threat — chemical and biological weapons — that are cheap to manufacture and use.
ISIS has used chlorine and mustard gas in Iraq and Syria, he said. Russia has used chemical weapons against its political allies — on its own soil and elsewhere, Clark added.
“A man in the basement of Mosul [Iraq] “With a few sets of laboratories, he can do it,” the general said, adding that it was a simple process to create these weapons. Chemical and biological weapons are terrorist weapons, and ISIS and al-Qaeda will continue to use them. They instill fear.
“Going forward, we have to be prepared for that event … and we have to find ways to combat it,” Clark said.
Cyber threats
Although U.S. officials say the government and other critical systems are under cyber attack every day, the general said he is also concerned about the way adversaries are using it to exploit information space.
He said miscreants are spreading misinformation and fake information online which has influenced the elections.
Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information – such as false breaking news. Misrepresentation is intentional to mislead the recipient.
Clark said cyber would give adversaries a quick way to spread disinformation that could harm the US cause.
“The message is, if you look at the Internet and what is happening in African countries, the US sanctions against Russia are causing food shortages in Africa,” he said. “So we’re to blame for people in Africa not getting food. … We need to look at what’s on the Internet and find out the truth about what’s going on. And I think we should be able to do that. A little bit faster than what we’re doing today, the government.”
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