The Pentagon. Gearing up for the wrong fights.

Mega Cities with bordering slums just as large.

This is one of those fights that the Pentagon is ignoring while it claws its way into the future.  Do yourself a favor and look at large cities in S. America, Central America, the Pacific and Africa.

They all have the same features (I'm generalizing)....a nice city center that is cosmopolitan and has modern features.  An outer ring that is a mix of commerce, industrialization and housing and then even further out crushing slums.

The Army is talking about "Human Terrain"?  This is where that fight will take place.  Not in the shining city centers that mirror US cities.  Its going to be in those nasty, filthy slums where disease is rampant, feces mixes with drinking water and the houses are on top of each other.

You could send a USMC Battalion (Reinforced) into that hell and it would get swallowed up.  The kind of fight I'm predicting would make Fallujah look like a picnic....and that's before we start talking about terrain features.

Are we talking about ghettos built on hillsides?  Is it by a river?  The issues compound depending on the part of the world you're operating in.

Additionally we can pretty much predict that rules of engagement will limit the efficiency of airpower to assist in the assault.  The same applies to artillery or naval guns.

This is just one of the possible future scenarios that is being ignored by military planners.  Fighting in the Middle East is easy compared to what's waiting.  We cannot afford to gear ourselves to perpetual fights in that region.  If we do then we're guaranteeing our future defeat.