What Stratergies?

You can say what you want about our last president, and liberals and democrats surely have. In the final analysis, though, George W. Bush not only kept the nation free from terrorist attack, but he and his National Security team provided a consistent and coherent strategy. A strategy that not only guided the combined efforts of our military and civilian agencies, but signaled to our allies and our potential foes where and why we would commit our blood and treasure.

Strategy is a misunderstood word. Webster’s defines strategy, derived from the Greek word for generalship, as: The science and art of employing the political, economic, military and political forces of a nation to afford maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war. Put another way strategy is a broad plan to achieve a nation’s goals. It is not, however, merely a list of those goals.

The Obama Administration, or as they sometimes prefer, the Obama-Biden administration (wait didn’t Joe Biden criticize Cheney for dominating Bush’s team?), has been reasonably certain of victory since September. They won an election victory in early November. They have been governing for more than a month now, after being afforded one of the smoothest transitions in White House history. But after all that, here we are without a strategy.

That’s right folks. Obama-Biden, have quietly replaced Bush’s National Security Strategy with a set of Agenda’s. I guess we’re going to defeat terrorists by holding a series of meetings. This would of course be in keeping with the current administration’s preference for engagement over conflict. After all Nazi Germany was overthrown not because of the strategy developed by Roosevelt, Churchill and George Marshall, or through the tireless wartime sacrifices of millions of Allied soldiers, but because the world “came together.” At least that’s the Obama-Biden version of history.

Joe Biden predicted before taking office that America’s enemies, and potential enemies would test our new president. Like a busted clock, even Joe Biden, has to be right occasionally. Our enemies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Northwestern Pakistan continue continue their efforts against us, and surely wait to see if Obama will be weaker than Bush. Elsewhere leaders of such diverse nations as Iran, North Korea, Peru, China and certainly Russia look to see if the new administration will allow them to advance there interests over America’s and those of the world’s democracies.

In the face of all this Obama (and Biden) have chosen to scrap coherent strategy for a few lists consisting of goals and vague intent. This in spite of their prior unrelenting criticism of the Bush strategy. Compare the Bush’s strategy to Obama’s agenda’s.

From the introduction to the National Security Strategy 2008:

The goal of our statecraft is to help create a world of democratic, well-governed states that can meet the needs of their citizens and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system. This is the best way to provide enduring security for the American people…

The chapters that follow will focus on several essential tasks. The United States must: ...

...
• Strengthen alliances to defeat global terrorism and work to prevent attacks against us and our friends;
• Work with others to defuse regional conflicts;
• Prevent our enemies from threatening us, our allies, and our friends with weapons of mass destruction (WMD);
• Expand the circle of development by opening societies and building the infrastructure of democracy;
• Develop agendas for cooperative action with other main centers of global power;
• Transform America’s national security institutions to meet the challenges and
opportunities of the 21st century; and
• Engage the opportunities and confront the challenges of globalization.

From Obama’s Agenda:

FOREIGN POLICY

President Obama and Vice President Biden will renew America’s security and standing in the world through a new era of American leadership. The Obama-Biden foreign policy will end the war in Iraq responsibly, finish the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, secure nuclear weapons and loose nuclear materials from terrorists, and renew American diplomacy to support strong alliances and to seek a lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

That ties to this howler further in:

Secure Loose Nuclear Materials from Terrorists:

Obama and Biden will secure all loose nuclear materials in the world within four years.

Wow, sounds like they may be too busy to govern while they’re out rounding up uranium. Funny it was never what Bush and Cheney were going to do, it was what America was going to do. I hope the dynamic duo will let us know if they need a hand.

To be fair Obama-Biden do mention strategy in their Agenda’s and some of their goals are the same as Bush’s. In fact most of them are. But it’s worth asking: Why did we de-link our goals from our plans? Just to be different from the last administration?

When The president says:

...And with our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism. Because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens half a world away.
(Speech to Congress Feb. 24, 2009)

Well then I’m anxious to hear that strategy. How will you “not allow it Mr. President? Because somewhere is a terrorist feeling very safe, plotting our demise right now. With the US forces soon to be retreating from Iraq, with the Guantanomo detainees soon to be released, and any new terrorist detainees given trials, I wonder what we have in place that will “not allow it.” As far as I can see not only do we have no new strategy in place, some of us have no idea how to achieve our goals.