.War Is Boring: Obama's War Strategy Evolved Version of Bush's
In her Senate confirmation hearing last week, incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that American foreign policy under President Barack Obama must blend military, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts, in equal measure. "We must use what has been called 'smart power,' the full range of tools at our disposal."
While consistent with Obama's longstanding call for greater international cooperation to address the world's problems, the idea of "smart power" gained widespread popularity in military and diplomatic circles during George W. Bush's second term. Obama's national-power strategy represents an evolution, not a revolution.
At a speech at Kansas State University in November 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- who is staying on under the Obama Administration -- famously advocated smart power, emphasizing the need to make greater use of "soft power" tools beyond military force.
"This country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power," Gates said. "I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use 'soft' power and for better integrating it with 'hard' power."
That Gates will remain with the Pentagon under Obama is, in fact, a strong endorsement of the national-security thinking that began to emerge late in the Bush Administration. The Pentagon applied lessons learned in Iraq to new battlefields, especially in Latin America and Africa, two regions that are rapidly gaining in importance to Washington due to growing populations and newly discovered energy resources.
In Iraq, the military eventually learned that it needed to emphasize reconstruction, training and cultural awareness over firepower. In his "soft power" speech in 2007, Gates highlighted the Pentagon's deployment to Iraq of civilian social scientists tasked with bridging the gap between the military and local populaces.
Today, this so-called "Human Terrain System," though controversial, is a fixture in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new U.S. Africa Command, headquartered in Germany, recently announced it would add social scientists to its forces, too.
Africa is a proving ground for soft and smart power. For decades the continent was a neglected backwater in Pentagon planning. Africa Command's establishment last year focused more resources on the continent. In the past year, the Pentagon has launched several smart-power missions in Africa, including airlift operations for Darfur peacekeepers, naval training and humanitarian missions off the West African coast, and an anti-piracy initiative in East Africa that involves major legal and diplomatic elements.
According to Navy Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, head of an Africa Command task force based in Djibouti, the command's "demand signal" is "not just generated by the military." He said the State Department drives many missions. This interagency cooperation is a hallmark of smart power, and might only increase as Clinton takes the reins at the State Department.
The Pentagon's operations in Latin America have evolved along the same lines as in Africa. While Latin America-focused Southern Command has been a part of the Pentagon's network of regional headquarters for decades, in recent years the command had suffered from neglect. It wasn't until last year that the command had its own Navy fleet headquarters. The establishment of Fourth Fleet, headed by the respected Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, allowed the Navy to launch a series of high-profile ship deployments delivering free medical care and reconstruction to impoverished Latin America communities.
The fourth such deployment, by the hospital ship Comfort, will begin this spring. These deployments, under the rubric of "Operation Continuing Promise," feature a heavy emphasis on diplomacy. "It's all lined up with the ambassadors," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, whose airmen have accompanied the Navy on their Latin American deployments. Through the U.S. embassy, host nations can request particular services -- road work, school construction, public health surveys or even plastic surgery, for instance -- at particular locations. The hosts often send their own medical personnel to work alongside the Navy crews and doctors and nurses from allied countries.
Obama campaigned on a platform of change. But when it comes to national security, there are more similarities than differences between second-term Bush and Obama. Both have embraced a "smart" merging of all aspects of U.S. power to advance national interests, without always resorting to force.
WPR
While consistent with Obama's longstanding call for greater international cooperation to address the world's problems, the idea of "smart power" gained widespread popularity in military and diplomatic circles during George W. Bush's second term. Obama's national-power strategy represents an evolution, not a revolution.
At a speech at Kansas State University in November 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates -- who is staying on under the Obama Administration -- famously advocated smart power, emphasizing the need to make greater use of "soft power" tools beyond military force.
"This country must strengthen other important elements of national power both institutionally and financially, and create the capability to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power," Gates said. "I am here to make the case for strengthening our capacity to use 'soft' power and for better integrating it with 'hard' power."
That Gates will remain with the Pentagon under Obama is, in fact, a strong endorsement of the national-security thinking that began to emerge late in the Bush Administration. The Pentagon applied lessons learned in Iraq to new battlefields, especially in Latin America and Africa, two regions that are rapidly gaining in importance to Washington due to growing populations and newly discovered energy resources.
In Iraq, the military eventually learned that it needed to emphasize reconstruction, training and cultural awareness over firepower. In his "soft power" speech in 2007, Gates highlighted the Pentagon's deployment to Iraq of civilian social scientists tasked with bridging the gap between the military and local populaces.
Today, this so-called "Human Terrain System," though controversial, is a fixture in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new U.S. Africa Command, headquartered in Germany, recently announced it would add social scientists to its forces, too.
Africa is a proving ground for soft and smart power. For decades the continent was a neglected backwater in Pentagon planning. Africa Command's establishment last year focused more resources on the continent. In the past year, the Pentagon has launched several smart-power missions in Africa, including airlift operations for Darfur peacekeepers, naval training and humanitarian missions off the West African coast, and an anti-piracy initiative in East Africa that involves major legal and diplomatic elements.
According to Navy Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, head of an Africa Command task force based in Djibouti, the command's "demand signal" is "not just generated by the military." He said the State Department drives many missions. This interagency cooperation is a hallmark of smart power, and might only increase as Clinton takes the reins at the State Department.
The Pentagon's operations in Latin America have evolved along the same lines as in Africa. While Latin America-focused Southern Command has been a part of the Pentagon's network of regional headquarters for decades, in recent years the command had suffered from neglect. It wasn't until last year that the command had its own Navy fleet headquarters. The establishment of Fourth Fleet, headed by the respected Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, allowed the Navy to launch a series of high-profile ship deployments delivering free medical care and reconstruction to impoverished Latin America communities.
The fourth such deployment, by the hospital ship Comfort, will begin this spring. These deployments, under the rubric of "Operation Continuing Promise," feature a heavy emphasis on diplomacy. "It's all lined up with the ambassadors," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, whose airmen have accompanied the Navy on their Latin American deployments. Through the U.S. embassy, host nations can request particular services -- road work, school construction, public health surveys or even plastic surgery, for instance -- at particular locations. The hosts often send their own medical personnel to work alongside the Navy crews and doctors and nurses from allied countries.
Obama campaigned on a platform of change. But when it comes to national security, there are more similarities than differences between second-term Bush and Obama. Both have embraced a "smart" merging of all aspects of U.S. power to advance national interests, without always resorting to force.
WPR
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