Peace Through Strength
By Bill Paisley March 8, 2010Region: North America
Topic: Bipartisanship
Peace through Strength. President Ronald Reagan made this one of the central points of his campaign in 1980. Facing the Carter administration-induced malaise that infected nearly every aspect of American life in the latter half of the 1970's, President Reagan sought to reclaim not only the US military and industrial superiority that was present for much of the post-WW 2 era, but also the American spirit and respect of the world.
Peace through strength. Another president, the first one, actually, uttered something similar. In his Fifth Annual Address to Congress, given in Philadelphia on December 3, 1793 George Washington said "If we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War."
Pretty good company.
Centuries apart, but the meaning and intent of what was essential to national power transcend the years. Peace through Strength refers not only to military power, there are many more facets to that phrase, facets that were the life's blood to a brand new nation or, 200 years later, the "shining city upon a hill”. Those instruments of national power - represented by the acronym DIME (Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic) - that help achieve our national goals must all be strong if "Peace Through Strength" is to have any backbone or meaning whatsoever. Let's take a look at the health and welfare of those elements today, shall we?
On the diplomatic front, US foreign diplomacy remains an enigma as the Obama administration continues its struggles with how to face the rest of the world. Instead of acting as the nation’s top foreign diplomat and negotiator, Secretary of State Clinton seems to be the designated Official US Visitor. Senator John Kerry - not the Secretary of State - was recently dispatched to discuss relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan while Vice President Joe Biden - not the Secretary of State - took off for Iraq to "focus on bridging the country's sectarian divide" last summer. The "coup" in Honduras (let's call it what it was - a legitimate government rallying against a Chavez-lite-President-for-Life-wannabe trying to change the constitution in an extralegal manner) has brought out some of the absolute worst in US diplomacy with Washington backing the would-be dictator Zeleya rather than the Honduran Constitution and Supreme Court. Whither US Diplomacy?
The Informational instrument of national power is, of course, tied into the old adage that “knowledge is power”. Even though this Informational aspect lacks the central organizational structure that the other DIME elements have (Diplomatic has the State Dept, the Military has the Department of Defense and the Economic instrument has the Departments of Commerce and Treasury), it remains a vitally important aspect of our national security. Most of our critical information comes from our intelligence agencies and their inherent capabilities. How are these agencies holding up? They keep taking hits fore, aft and amidships in the form of investigations and legal action as agents continue their effort to gather actionable intelligence in an increasingly difficult and dangerous environment. Producing desired results in spite of possible prosecution or imprisonment while your tactics, techniques and procedures come under constant attack does not really facilitate a warm and fuzzy - and strong information-based intelligence gathering environment. Whither US Intelligence?
The military element is rife with questions. How do we fight 4th generation guerilla/insurgent warfare in the 21st century while maintaining the capability to engage a peer or near-peer adversary? How do we maintain a modernized fleet of naval ships able to operate in blue water or green, an Air Force that will ensure air superiority in any region, a marine corps that can kick down any door necessary and an army that will always have the tactical and operational advantage on the battlefield? Whither the US military?
The economic element? Well, the headline this week screaming "Federal Deficit Sets October Record at $176.4 Billion" coupled with an unemployment rate of over ten percent is evidence enough that this essential part of our national power is hanging by a thread. Add in the problem that unemployment always lags an ending recession and the wounded business development and industrial base will make it difficult to help pull this economic fat from the fryer. Whither US economic power?
This is not the way to keep America strong - or alive - in an increasingly globalized and dangerous world. Armies do not have to pour across a battle front or through a border or demilitarized zone to affect significant damage on an adversary. The attacks on 9/11 caused an estimated $2 trillion hit on our nation and these attacks were the very definition of asymmetric warfare. The combination of a highly technological and globalized world coupled with radical Islam has the potential to be a perfect storm of terrorism – a toxic cocktail of terror.
President Washington had two oceans insulating him and his new country from events in Europe and whatever might have been happening in the Far East during his administration. Today, we don't have anything close to those natural barriers protecting us from events abroad. What happens on the Horn of Africa or the Arabian Gulf or Iran or Afghanistan or India or Pakistan or Indonesia or Korea or Venezuela or anywhere on the globe affects us today, here, at home, in some ways as if it had happened in our back yard. Simply put, we do not have the luxury of ignoring what goes on in the world.
Peace through strength. Time to go back to the future and do it right.
