For nearly a century, the United States has flexed its military muscle through large-scale, high-intensity mechanized operations. This approach worked in 1917 when more than 1 million U.S. troops descended upon Europe, bringing about an end to World War I; and it worked in 1991 when American forces used precision-guided aerial weapons to drive Iraq's occupying forces out of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War. In fact, it worked so well in the Gulf War that the world -- particularly America's adversaries -- took notice.

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