A "New Definition of Sea Power"

The new CNO of the Navy Adm. Mike Mullen is calling for the fleet to change the way it fights, in a speech before the Naval War College:

Mullen said that when he came into the Navy, it was all about "big ships and blue water, training for the big fight, training to fight the big bad 10-foot-tall Soviets." Today, however, "we face entirely new challenges, the likes of which we couldn't have even imagined just a few short years ago," CNO said.As 70 percent of the world's surface is covered by water, and more than 50 percent of the world's population lives within 16 miles of the shore, "without mastery of the sea - without sea power - we cannot protect trade, we cannot help those in peril, we cannot provide relief from natural disaster, and we cannot intercede when whole societies are torn asunder by slavery, weapons of mass destruction, drugs and piracy," Mullen stressed.

Sounds like Adm. Mullen is calling for smaller, less expensive warships, better suited for today's environement. Oh wait:

Mullen also stressed the need to build naval capabilities for littoral warfare."I want the ability to go close in and stay there," Mullen said. "I believe our Navy is missing a great opportunity to influence events by not having a riverine force. We're going to have one."

He also is calling for a "1000 ship navy", which sounds like a United Nations Fleet:

where ships of navies from around the world cooperate and operate routinely with one another.“We need to be a team player, a leader, for that 1,000-ship navy and a citizen in good standing for the city at sea,” he said.