Statecraft security/ Covert actions
In light of plummeting security around the globe
today, the United States would be prudent to take an inventory of its
instruments of statecraft. The foundation for effective statecraft and strategy
is to have the means to achieve political ends. The potential political ends in
this deteriorating world are far outpacing American military capabilities.
Our defense budgets, talented military personnel
and hardware are suffering from stresses and strains, and are worn out after
more than a decade of battles from Afghanistan to Iraq and elsewhere in the
world.
To make American ends and means match, we will
have to be smarter at using instruments other than military power. These
instruments include diplomacy, intelligence and covert action.
We often think of drone strikes and
direct-action attacks by Special Operations Forces such as Delta and SEAL teams
when talking about covert action these days as a legacy of the type of
operations we have been conducting against the likes of Al Qaeda and the
Taliban. But covert action should be understood in a broader sense of
statecraft. It is the support or operations to influence global situations to
the advantage of American national interests that require the hiding of the
American role to minimize risks and investments, while maximizing the chances
for success.
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