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x Preface development, and innovation to promote U.S. economic prosperity and national security well into the later decades of the 21st century. In developing the recommendations that are being offered in Tech Wars , we consider how we got ourselves into this tech war, and what the recent skirmishes have told us about the future we are facing absent fundamental changes. We also consider perspectives on how we have waged previous tech wars, and what we have learned in building up our economic power through our technologies and innovations. We draw on the lessons from the special case of technology and warfare, as we look for opportunities for increased permeability between civilian and military uses of technology that have potential benefi ts for both. In thinking about future scenarios, we conclude that the United States must focus on what is important and set the conditions for success now that will guide U.S. technology development as we approach the beginning of the next century. An early draft of the manuscript was completed just before COVID-19— formally called acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)— was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. While the history of COVID-19 continues to be written, already many lessons have been learned. Subsequent drafts have been revised to include some of these COVID-19 lessons, and often shortfalls, in our scientifi c and technology (S&T) enterprise—by extension, these lessons and shortfalls often extend to our R&D capabilities and priorities. Updates have also been made to account for the emerging lessons learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This book has benefi ted from the many colleagues and friends who have provided extraordinary insights and helped frame my thoughts on the his- tory of technology and the emerging technologies that will defi ne the future. Some helped to motivate me when the pages were still blank. Others pro- vided insights and encouragement along the way. Several suffered through reading early drafts of the manuscript and provided extremely useful inputs that helped to challenge me to think more broadly and ultimately to bring the book to fruition. All have been extraordinarily generous with their time and patience. Specifi cally, I would like to thank James Miller, Tara O’Toole, Thad Allen, David Petraeus, Gilman Louie, Richard Danzig, Raymond DuBois, Joon Yun, George Christopher, Doug Copeland, Aaron Davenport, Troy Denomy, James Dougherty, Brian deVallance, Sam Dorrance, Greg Koblentz, James Lewis, Joel McCleary, John “Murph” Murphy, Ali Nouri, David Olive, Sue Ramanathan, Derek Reveron, Craig Wiener, Henry Willis, and Don Woodbury. I would also like to add a special thanks to Joan Smith Grey—West Point classmate, colleague, fellow author, and friend—whose book Good Goodbyes was published several months before her death from pancreatic cancer. Joan’s encouragement when I was editing an early draft of Tech Wars motivated me to keep pushing.