For thirty-six years, an internal Pentagon think tank has been forecasting the future for military leaders -- and shooing the public away from its seemingly infinite stream of studies. But thanks to *TPM Muckracker's *Justin Elliott, us outsiders now have a sliver of an idea about what the Office of Net Assessment is up to.
The Office, headed since its inception by legendary military thinker Andrew Marshall (left), commissions dozens and dozens of reports every year. Through the Freedom of Information Act, Elliott managed to obtain a list of those studies, if not their contents.
The breadth is simply stunning. Some of the recent titles: Chinese and Russian Asymmetrical Strategies for Space Dominance (2010 - 2030), Contradictions and Continuities: The Changing Moral Education Landscape,* Role Of High Power Microwave Weapons In Future Intercontinental Conventional War*,* Europe 2025: Mounting Security Challenges Amidst Declining Competitiveness, ** Biometaphor For The Body Politic, Minorities in Turkish-Iranian Relations*,* Preserving American Primacy, *Fighting A Nuclear-Armed Regional Opponent: Is Victory Possible?
Most of these studies are unclassified. So hopefully the next step will be seeing exactly which tomorrows the Pentagon's "futurist-in-chief" has been examining.
[Photo: Sandro for WIRED]
