Moving Forward in Army Command
Sat Dec 23, 2006 at 09:53:21 AM PDT
Now that Casey and Abizaid are leaving, the president has a politically convenient moment to reset the tone amongst his top generals, as well as at the Pentagon
Bush faces a bind in that he's decided that whatever occurs in Iraq, he wants the US to be operating from a position of strength, of command; yet he must also make significant shifts in tactics, process and strategy as he explores ways to get forward motion towards a resolution of US involvement there.
As he seeks to bolster troop levels and reaffirm a commitment to dominate on the ground, he must also display a flexibility and pull in leaders willing to rethink the entire operation, its aims and methods
This is the time for the president to make a leap forward in the command and strategic view guiding the military.
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Many Pentagon leaders understand the language of strength, of simply massing more troops and making a deeper commitment
But they don't always stand out as brave thinkers who can chart a new course beyond conventional thinking
Experiments tend to remain in the background, while top generals are often quite old-school
It's a safer space to operate from and much is at stake
Having taken a stand based on concentrated force alone, if you don't achieve success, you remain largely blameless
If you take a more agile and innovative approach and you lose, you look like a dangerous fool
So they stick with the known, whether it works or not
The career path at the Pentagon tends to deincentivize bold thinking
This is a problem right now, because if there is any sort of win or progress to be had in Iraq, with more troops or less troops, it's got to come from a less traditional, more flexible approach
With Casey and Abizaid moving on, Bush can take the opportunity to embrace new thinkers, who want to build a new vision of the armed forces and set firmly in place a new guiding fighting concept for what has been called the War on Terror
The transformation set in motion by Rumsfeld is not complete, but is moving ahead in rebuilding the force into one with much more flexibility around deployment; smaller pieces, easily reassembled into appropriate task forces
Yet that is only part of the puzzle
This needs to be extended further into a full embrace of non-conventional methods, counter-insurgency and post-combat and non-combat civil stabilization operations; making the armed forces a truly robust and dynamic operation, which expands rather than limits options for any commander-in-chief.
Of course, Iraq is a terrible proving ground for any emergent military philosophy; but it's the situation at hand, and the political situation is such domestically that there is an opening to a really distinct approach
Bush needs to reach in and establish a new generation of Pentagon leaders at the top of command
He needs to give his full backing to those willing to create a new approach for America's military overall
Iraq has its own momentum which may be hard to shift; but the military needs to continue to look towards handling chaotic situations in other regions better than it has in the past
A change in style of leadership in Iraq can be a step in the right direction for longer-term military strategy
This will be a synthesis of new approaches will take years to succeed, but it can start now
And it can continue even in the midst of a drawdown or redeployment or shift to a training mission in Iraq; even in the midst of multiple shifts over the next couple of years as dynamics in Iraq change
Troops may likely be part of implementing a political settlement in Iraq, that allows them to finally drawdown; and this may include many kinds of non-combat situations
Creative thinking is required
There are a number of relevant ideas floating around: a civil international force; formalizing post-combat skills and forces into a new Pentagon structure; training in civil and diplomatic and mediation skills espoused by those promoting a dept of peace; the desire to vastly increase resources in foreign language and cultural skills across all military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies;
All these and more can begin to coalesce in one umbrella of new thought, led by a new conception of the fight and America's mission in this age of asymmetric turbulence
This larger coalescing of a new American pragmatic internationalist strategy is long-term, but by affirming the need for bold new thinking, Bush can, right now, contribute to the morale of those seeking more profound transformation
Part of this is what's known as counter-insurgency, which is fought in a very different way than traditional war, and involves many non-combat aspects
Wherever the situation in Iraq heads, which is sure to change over the next year, it will be a tricky, complex and shifting dynamic involving US troops in unconventional situations
Those who can think in terms of asymmetric conflict and multi-dimensional politics in these hostile zones, need to be in charge
Whether the force stays, leaves, redeploys, transforms, grows or shrinks, these same issues will govern the reality on the ground
The time now is to move beyond conventional thinking at the Pentagon, not to toss it out as a voice at the table, but to hand the leadership to a new generation of leaders
The retirement of Abizaid as head of Central Command, and Casey as commander of forces in Iraq, gives Bush the opportunity to reset the leadership
The newly updated counterinsurgency manual, prepared by Gen. David Petraeus and others is an example of the willingness to explore new thinking needed
Petraeus, Chiarelli and other commanders have had some success in applying new techniques on the ground in Iraq, though these efforts are experimental and evolving.
We're just at the beginning of a long process of redefining American approaches to these tricky, multi-dimensionally challenging situations, so any new ideas emerging now are just starting points.
These efforts will not save the Iraq mission as originally conceived, but they can allow America to handle rapid changes in approach and configuration, and thus meet well evolving situations on the ground.
Flexibility, creativity and boldness in the face of confusing conditions speaks well of what will be needed in the months ahead.
In Petraeus and others inspired in forging an innovative new path, Bush has an opportunity to help the nation take its next great step in military and security transformation
He should seize the moment.
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