“The U.S. used to parade around the world, and life would go on as usual back home. But American military muscle isn’t the be all and end all anymore. Land, sea, air and space superiority are so 20th century. Cyberstrike capabilities have leveled the battlefield. And the scrappy countries are holding more bargaining chips. ‘One of the risks is that you’ve got Iran talking to Russia,’ says James Lewis, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘You have Iran talking to North Korea; you’ve got the Syrians talking to Iran.’ The Pentagons realize the catastrophic damage that cyberattacks pose. And they want to be able to cause that damage just as much as they want to prevent it here at home.”
