Cyberattacks challenge ideas of war – and peace

[Commentary] For anyone trying to promote peace, these are confusing times. Not because there is more war. Indeed, violence between states or within states has fallen sharply from the last century. Rather, the very nature of conflict is changing rapidly.

To avoid invasions with troops, for example, many countries plan to follow the United States in the use of unmanned predatory drones. Instead of violent airstrikes, they impose crippling economic sanctions, relying on the digital tools of global finance. And if sanctions don’t work, they devise computer viruses or other types of cyberwarfare. Such changes in the nature of conflict make it difficult to determine future threats.

Congress may not know how to craft a defense budget, making it more vulnerable to the lobbying of defense industries. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) of the House Intelligence Committee says Congress must learn to deal with the new realities like cyberwarfare that are “moving at the speed of light.” The concept of war itself has become a moving target. Peacemakers must move with it.