Category: Smart Power

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"

The Gift Of Freedom — (Letter), (Omaha World-Herald)…Gordon R. England, Nov 11, 2008.

A remarkable thing happened today in Omaha and in each town, city and state across this great nation: Every American woke up free. This was not by accident or chance.

As President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.”

Freedom is a gift earned for us by those brave Americans who in the past 230 years have stepped forward to protect and defend liberty and the ideals of this great country.

Every day, I am awed by the service, courage and sacrifices made by the men and women who have worn or now wear the cloth of our nation.

President John F. Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address, “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in the hour of maximum danger.”

We owe them, all veterans and their families a profound debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifice. This Veterans Day and every day, take time to thank our veterans for the great gift of freedom!

Gordon R. England, Washington, D. C., Deputy secretary of defense

Soft Power: Prevention

U.S. Shows That Soft Power Can Work In A Hard War (Washington Times)…Gary Schaub Jr. Nov 12, 2008.
Soft power is about to come to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) – America’s military command in the Middle East – in a big way. 

By winning friends and influencing people, the idea goes, the United States can defuse potential conflicts before they start and achieve America’s goals without firing a shot.

If the next president is patient and trusts Gen. Petraeus’ judgment, the success of the surge can be replicated across the Middle East and Central Asia, and soft-power approaches will permeate American foreign policy for a generation to come.

Gary Schaub Jr. is an assistant professor in the Leadership and Strategy Department of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, in Montgomery, Ala.

Winning the Peace

Stability Operations and State Building: Continuities and Contingencies. Edited by Colonel Greg Kaufmann, U.S.A., Ret, September, 2008. Strategic Studies Institute, Army War College Carlisle Barracks, PA.

The Strategic Studies Institute and Austin Peay State University conducted an academic colloquium titled, “Stability Operations
and State-Building: Continuities and Contingencies.” The purpose was to identify principles and supporting policies of state-building that will enhance America’s ability “to win the peace” while stabilizing chaotic regions. The approved list of “Principles to Win the Peace” were:

1. Ensure rule of law
2. Seek security: civil, military, economic
3. Pursue legitimacy
4. Encourage development
5. Foster self-empowerment and self-sufficiency
6. Foster communications

Thomas Barnett was one of the presenters. His session titled: How America Realigns Itself to the Current Geostrategic Landscape,  identifed the following points of emphasis:

• Leave the place more connected than you found it, across all networks possible.
•  romote industries that link the economy into existing and emergent production chains; any niche will do.
• Give the regime the technical and training wherewithal to secure its borders.
• Rehabilitate and/or build up air- and seaport security to meet American entry/fastpass standards, so that direct connections can be forged, giving transitioning states the software and hardware if necessary.
• Go slowly on elections and demands for democracy; most countries can only connect as single-party regimes because of the social and economic challenges involved with opening up to the global economy.
• Realize most societies have democracy within tribes and among tribal leaders, but that the decision point preference is consensus, not majority vote.
• Go with whatever traditional social hierarchal structure exists; build from that instead of transplanting.
• Do not push women’s rights so much as women’s education—especially for girls. (Remember how long it took for women to get the vote in the United States.)
• Do not feed people except for short durations and when extreme need arises; it is better to encourage agricultural development.
• Build police, not militaries.

In a previous posting, Economics, Political Change, Prediction Markets, I reference Barnett’s work in expanding economic connectivity through gloablization. His points of emphasis above reinforce the need for “phased-in variability” regarding  change … go slowly on elections, concensus vs. majority vote, focus on women’s education vs women rights, build on existing instead of transplanting.

Big Ideas, Abortion, Elections, Alternative to the Zero-Sum Game

POST: Roy’s prediction on Islam in France going the route of unreformed Catholicism, Thomas P.M. Barnett on October 22, 2008

POST: I have waited years for this analysis on management consulting! Posted by Thomas P.M. Barnett on October 21, 2008

Started to reply to Tom’s postings but got long-winded so posted here …  The first post provides insight on religion, catholic schools and a position on the abortion issue.  I share a common background on being raised catholic and sending my kids to catholic schools. I’m also opposed to abortion and against any major changes to the existing laws.

The second posting  references the concept of the next Big Idea and positions Enterra and Resilience as the front-runner.

My pet theory on management consulting is that successful initiatives/programs re-package what every company has already done under a different name – the latest being lean and six sigma. What successful organization has never reduced waste, improved cycle time and maintained/improved stakeholder satisfaction?  From what I’ve read, seems Development-in-a-Box is an innovation that can accelerate cycle time for improving quality by providing systems and processes tailored to a specific situation.

My entry for the Next Big Idea is an improved problem resolution/decision making rule-set that offers an alternative to the zero-sum game.  Application of the process as it applies to the abortion issue.  Key points on the system/process: People can agree on facts, ideals and can find common causes that they can choose to work together to resolve. People will likely always disagree on desired outcomes, e.g., the legality of abortion. The U.S. system of government as is our legal system, is founded upon these principles.

The implication when it comes to the abortion issue is that those who are against abortion and who do not take action that results in improvement are contributing to the problem they say they want to resolve. In other words, improvement becomes a moral imperative.

Regarding the current presidential election, the zero-sum paradigm is maintained by political parties who generally have the most to gain by maintaining the current system.  An alterative (system/horizontal thinking point of view) for breaking this cycle provided in the article: A Transformation to Quality Government.   Another Big Idea is to use the concept of Prediction Markets to raise awareness and allow people to predict/anticipate which indicators will get better or worse over time.