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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 7/12/09

McNamara and lessons of war - which way do we go now?

By Teresa Albano  Posted by Teresa Albano (about the submitter)       (Page 2 of 3 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   1 comment
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The CNAS board of directors includes luminaries from both Clinton and Bush administrations such as former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns and former Defense Secretary William Perry, along with two former Lockheed Martin executives and figures connected with the military, financial and intelligence communities.

In addition, the center is involving prominent journalists, writers and academics.

CNAS has produced a slew of conferences and reports, readily available on its web site. (And it's on Facebook and Twitter, and does iTunes and Blip.tv video and audio podcasts.)

Its materials are worth studying. A quick review indicates a real attempt to employ lessons that McNamara and other important policymakers have drawn from the Vietnam and Iraq debacles: namely, that unilateralism, arrogance, excessive focus on massive military might, and disregard of international and domestic laws, opinions and moral values don't work and harm U.S. interests.

One paper issued in June, titled "Beyond Bullets: A Pragmatic Strategy to Combat Violent Islamist Extremism," is illustrative. It calls for "an approach that is sustainable, properly resourced, grounded in bipartisan political support, and bolstered by a dense network of partnerships that engages actors both inside and outside of government." The U.S. must "find a new way ... that more effectively engages foreign partners," the report says. "America's government and armed forces cannot and should not be at the center of every effort to combat violent extremism."

It continues, "America must respond without overstating the threat, overspending national resources, reacting in ways that are ultimately counterproductive, or compromising core values. Violent extremism will not be the only threat to American security in the coming years. A reaction that compromises America's moral authority undercuts its power. And, perversely, the threat will become all the more potent if it is exaggerated."

Yet this and several other CNAS papers, on Iraq, Afghanistan and related topics, continue to suggest a view of the world as something to be manipulated to advance U.S. "interests," (without clearly defining what those "interests" are).

Take language like this in the report on violent extremism: "The United States must adapt its role to circumstance, being sometimes a leader, sometimes a quiet supporter, sometimes the coordinator of diverse actors, and sometimes the determined projector of force."

"Wherever feasible, the United States should step out of the spotlight," the report advises. "By empowering and supporting local actors, the United States can accomplish its own objectives." It adds, "By engaging vast networks of nongovernmental organizations, private businesses, journalists, and individual citizens, counter-extremism initiatives can reach farther, faster, and more effectively than the U.S. government and armed forces ever could. It is not necessary for these groups to love America or agree with American policies. In fact, distance from American positions enhances their
credibility with some audiences."

Covert operations, anyone?

And, the report says, "Significant military operations, even on a large scale, will remain essential in some circumstances."

Following such an approach would mean we really haven't learned all that much from the wreckage of U.S. foreign policy. It's not just Vietnam and Iraq that has done the damage, but the whole history of U.S. Cold War politics, aimed at manipulating the world to ensure the dominance of increasingly interlocked U.S. corporate-military interests. This policy involved notorious covert as well as overt action to repress and even exterminate communist, left, working class and other democratic currents in countries around the world. President Obama, in his recent Cairo speech, mentioned one of the most infamous episodes, the CIA-backed 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh because of his moves to nationalize Iran's oil.

Which way will we follow?

Drawing real lessons from the past means redefining what our interests are. That means identifying whose interests must be at the center of both our domestic and our foreign policy. At home that struggle is playing out in the arenas of health care, worker rights and other issues. Who calls the shots - the giants of corporate America or the American people? In world affairs, whose interests defines our security - the insatiable profit interests of our transnational corporations or the shared interests of the people of our country and the world in securing a decent life and livelihood? If we see our future in the shared interests of ordinary Americans and the ordinary people of the rest of the world, we will not pursue a policy that seeks to manipulate them to serve some other interests.

A more useful direction is shown in another CNAS paper issued in June, titled "Natural Security,"which links natural resources, environmental conservation and global economic policies, to U.S. national security.

The report concludes: "From oil to critical minerals to water, the global competition for natural resources in the 21st century will generate economic dislocation, tension, instability, and even conflict. At the same time, the consequences of rising resource consumption, such as climate change and mass extinction of species, can also be a threat multiplier. Just as the nation's understanding of what constitutes a threat is changing, so is our understanding of how we achieve peace and prosperity. As this young century unfolds, the security of the United States and most nations of the world will increasingly depend on our 'natural security.'"

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Terrie Albano is co-editor of People's World, www.peoplesworld.org.
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