The Pentagon's New Map

[I. M. Esperto]

http://www.nwc.navy.mil/newrulesets/ThePentagonsNewMap.htm



The Thomas P.M. Barnett Web Files at the U.S. Naval War College




THE PENTAGON’S NEW MAP



IT EXPLAINS WHY WE’RE GOING TO WAR,
AND WHY WE’LL KEEP GOING TO WAR.



BY

THOMAS P.M. BARNETT, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE

[MAPS BY WILLIAM MCNULTY]





Esquire, March 2003 issue



Since the end of the cold war, the United States has been trying to come up with an operating theory of the world—and a military strategy to accompany it. Now there’s a leading contender. It involves identifying the problem parts of the world and aggressively shrinking them. Since September 11, 2001, the author, a professor of warfare analysis, has been advising the Office of the Secretary of Defense and giving this briefing continually at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community. Now he gives it to you.





LET ME TELL YOU why military engagement with Saddam Hussein’s regime in Baghdad is not only necessary and inevitable, but good.



When the United States finally goes to war again in the Persian Gulf, it will not constitute a settling of old scores, or just an enforced disarmament of illegal weapons, or a distraction in the war on terror. Our next war in the Gulf will mark a historical tipping point—the moment when Washington takes real ownership of strategic security in the age of globalization.



That is why the public debate about this war has been so important: It forces Americans to come to terms with I believe is the new security paradigm that shapes this age, namely, Disconnectedness defines danger. Saddam Hussein’s outlaw regime is dangerously disconnected from the globalizing world, from its rule sets, its norms, and all the ties that bind countries together in mutually assured dependence.



The problem with most discussion of globalization is that too many experts treat it as a binary outcome: Either it is great and sweeping the planet, or it is horrid and failing humanity everywhere. Neither view really works, because globalization as a historical process is simply too big and too complex for such summary judgments. Instead, this new world must be defined by where globalization has truly taken root and where it has not.



Show me where globalization is thick with network connectivity, financial transactions, liberal media flows, and collective security, and I will show you regions featuring stable governments, rising standards of living, and more deaths by suicide than murder. These parts of the world I call the Functioning Core, or Core. But show me where globalization is thinning or just plain absent, and I will show you regions plagued by politically repressive regimes, widespread poverty and disease, routine mass murder, and—most important—the chronic conflicts that incubate the next generation of global terrorists. These parts of the world I call the Non-Integrating Gap, or Gap.



Globalization’s “ozone hole” may have been out of sight and out of mind prior to September 11, 2001, but it has been hard to miss ever since. And measuring the reach of globalization is not an academic exercise to an eighteen-year-old marine sinking tent poles on its far side. So where do we schedule the U.S. military’s next round of away games? The pattern that has emerged since the end of the cold war suggests a simple answer: in the Gap.



The reason I support going to war in Iraq is not simply that Saddam is a cutthroat Stalinist willing to kill anyone to stay in power, nor because that regime has clearly supported terrorist networks over the years. The real reason I support a war like this is that the resulting long-term military commitment will finally force America to deal with the entire Gap as a strategic threat environment.





FOR MOST COUNTRIES, accommodating ......................

[Zlin526]

Biggest load of Bollo% I've ever read.......

When are these guys going to realise that the world can and does exist without intervention from them good 'ol boys in the US of A, yehaa and all that.

Not sure if this is a wheeze and I've been hooked, but I still can't believe the content. Mind you, considering some of the wacky stuff coming from the White House/Pentagon these days, doesn't surprise me one jot!

[SPIT]

Hi I,M,E
Ref your post about the Pentagon.
I have not read such B****cks since I saw the New Lab Manifestoand that was also a right pack of Cr*p:* :*

[Tourist]

Ah Zlin and Split, I had not realised that you were so qualified as to spout such technical arguments as "b@llocks!" on this subject.

[BlueWolf]

Couldn't agree more. What a load of pompous imperialist claptrap.

It will all end in tears, as has been discovered by every nation in history who ever tried to remake the peoples of the world into an Empire forged in their own image, or at least to their own design.

No offence intended to your good self, IME, but this doctrine is unworkable rubbish. It flies in the face of human nature, which, regardless of whatever side of the evolution / creation debate one subscribes to - if, indeed, one subscribes to either, which is itself not necessary in order to observe the historical reality of the human condition - has been crafted in accordance with far greater designs than the Pentagon is capable of encompassing.

It would seem that yet another generation of humanity who should know better, have failed to learn from the oft-repeated lessons of history.
Seduced by their own relative wealth and technological advancement, they mistakenly suppose that their minute window on the long story of the world offers a view never seen before, from a position offering a unique opportunity to alter the course of development of that world's human inhabitants.

What a shame. At best it's very sad; at worst, a depressingly predictable prelude to self-inflicted disaster.

Why aren't these people compelled to study history? Is there a minimum required level of intelligence for Pentagon planners?

Sigh....:confused: :confused: :eek: :eek: :yuk:

[ORAC]

One would have thought BlueWolf would have seen that it wasn't by the Pentagon, but merely a staff paper by an instructor at the Naval War College. Perhaps all papers produced by Cranwell, Sandhurst and Dartmouth can now be attributed to the MOD? :rolleyes:

[BlueWolf]

Probably not, and point taken. The argument, however, still applies.:)

[ORAC]

Accepted. It ignores the concept that, "the poor are always with us". No matter how one tries, one cannot close the, "Gap", as it always exists in the minds of men - not their bank accounts.

[Lu Zuckerman]

Seduced by their own relative wealth and technological advancement, they mistakenly suppose that their minute window on the long story of the world offers a view never seen before, from a position offering a unique opportunity to alter the course of development of that world's human inhabitants.

Wasn't this the philosophy followed by the English over the last several hundred years? The French and Spanish have executed this same philosophy over that same time period. The history that you say must be learned from is your history and their history and what you and they as a country have done to the rest of the world.

There are a lot of theories as to why Iraq invaded Q 8 but it all boils down to the fact that when the British left the Middle East they had carved out new political boundaries and Q 8 was taken from the country of Iraq and they wanted it back.

Also, remember the Balfour amendment and look at what is going on in Israel /Palestine. People that live in glass houses should not cast stones.

I don’t want this war any more than you do. I have two sons that were in Desert Storm and both are suffering health problems.

:sad:

[Aerodyne.]

Unfortunately it was the US's very "disconnectedness" that got them into this 'pickle' in the first place . The idea that they are going to 'reengage' by means of 21'st century gun boat diplomacy is niave.' Real Politik' is alive & well ,Gung ho !,Gung Ho !. This bloke should get out more often !!.

[Squawk7777]

Lu, it is interesting that you point out the health problems. I know three friends of mine who fought in Desert Storm and all are sick as well. It started with diabetes and then ... :(

Dop! ...brain is on teflon right now. Wasn't there a law suit against the Pentagon a few years back under Clinton? Some desert storm vets got together I remember...

[Lucifer]

Fundamental flaws:

Iraq is not volutarily out of the loop of globalisation - we put it there with sanctions, and prior to then it was hardly non-threatening.

What is wrong with not wanting to globalise eg in NW Pakistan. Fogetting the fact that religious fanaticism is prevalent there, maybe, just maybe, they don't want their kids to get fat on McD's or grow up on a diet of trash TV?

More drugs by use come from 'the Core' than the non-Core countries. For example LSD, ecstacy, Marijuana etc. It is not simply cocaine and heroin.

Fear in Middle Eastern states? Sounds more like the TSAs new search proposals. Obviously the author has never been to the Middle East, or noticed the lack of opportunities for the young in the backwaters of the US, nor that a trust fund is required for uni in the US. etc etc. Nor that we are supporting the Saudi regime - that he admits is nasty.

Bullies picking on the weak...well we're attacking Iraq and not China for nukes and human rights violations. Nuff said.

Good track record in exporting security? Vietnam? Remember that? Great - press your idea of government on a people who you're not even asking. The rest of the world has not asked the US to be its policeman.

"It is America’s continued success in deterring global war and obsolescing state-on-state war that allows us to stick our noses into the far more difficult subnational conflicts and the dangerous transnational actors they spawn." How anyone can have the audacity to proclaim this I do not know.

Having said that, the country summary below is fairly comprehensive and useful.

[Rattus]

I must have missed the "US military peacekeeping" in Northern Ireland. When did that happen?

Or is this a reference to NORAID?

A profoundly depressed Rattus

[46Driver]

Lucifer,
What the hell are you talking about? Maybe a trust fund to go to an Ivy League school or private university (tuition at the local university here is $1500 a semester) Also, you could join the military get 75% of your tuition paid for while on active duty and receive up to $50k for more college when you get out - I have the G.I. Bill myself which pays for about $36k worth of grad school. There are plenty of colleges that are affordable. As for "lack of opportunity" - this is America - you can go as far as hard work will take you. There are plenty of jobs and opportunities - but being a very capitalistic society, nobody is going to give it to you.

[Tigs2]

LU Zuck
You have highlighted exactly the point that Bluewolf was trying to make. The Brits, French, Spanish, Romans, Greeks, Mongols, Egyptians (How far do i need to go back) have all endevoured to rule the world - and every empire that ever was has always failed. This is like a father giving advice to his adolecsant son - weve tried it and it doesn't work. But i guess human nature is that the son never listens to the father, till its all too late and then some years on thinks'gee I wish i'd listened to dad'.

I do not want the US as the policing nation of the world, they have no right, particularly while the Bush administration constantly refuses to sign up to any Environmental/Humanitarian agreements, that the rest of the world see as vital to our very survival on this planet. If it may affect the US economy the administration does not want to know.

The difference between all the nations listed above in the past and the US, is that the US has the potential to cause more havoc than anything previously seen in history put together.

Saddam must go. According to Bush and Blair he is a murderer and he tortures and suppresses his people. Yet it seems that if he were to comply fully with complete and total disarmament, these two chaps would leave him there(presumably happy in the knowledge that he will continue to torture and murder).

There is a hidden agenda here and it is oil. Bush promises that the money from oil will go to the people of Iraq. Yeah right! when the US pays two dollars a barrel for it(it is only $1 a barrel to produce). ANd then makes a very tidy profit.

Quote'People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'

I agree with wiping out terrorism. Please explain why almost 3000 people have died in Northern Ireland as a result of a terrorist organisation that was funded with over $25 million a year from NORAID(i.e the US). Thats almost as many people as in the twin towers.

The best thing the Bush administration could do with its huge defence budget, is use it to build a 100 foot high wall around the US. It will keep us all out, and they would find that the rest of the world would sort itself out, and get on just fine. We'd all be happy, but more importantly safe then!



Tigs2

[West Coast]

Tigs
As long as we are gonna act pompous...

As late as 96 the UK was named by Israel as the largest source of funding for Hamas. No excuse for US citizens funding noraid, just as there is no excuse for the funding of Hamas.

[Tigs2]

West Coast
I am certainly not 'acting' pompous at all. Who knows what governments get up to on the quiet, such as the incredible funding for Israel (still in breach of god knows how many resolutions)by the US. But, there were public fund raising events for NORAID in the United States. The IRA even sold a newspaper there on the streets of New York and elswhere called 'An Phoblacht' just to bolster funds. I've never noticed any fund raising events or Newspaper sales in the UK to support Hamas. The British public would tell them to S@d off. Still the power base on the east coast is Irish, and the financial power base is from Israel, so I am sure the US will just make up the rules as they please.

[West Coast]

Look in the areas you would reasonably expect to find it...

The funding you intimate does not exists isn't on the street corner. It is however adjunct to my point, clean your own street corner or mosque before you venture to criticize the US on terrorist funding.

[Tigs2]

West Coast

I did not intimate that the funding was taking place on the street corners! That was the selling of the newspapers. The funding was actually organised at functions such as gala dinners, and other more significant events. I was in Int for more than 15 years, so if you do not know what you are talking about please do not get riled so easily. Looking at your profile, I doubt that you have ever been to New York, apart from on a quick visit, or overnight stop with your airline. Please correct me if I am wrong!

Why did you mention Mosques? Is that because I mentioned the Isreali's? I am a British Christian through and through. Why is it that some of you guys(please note everyone else, I said SOME of you guys) in the US seem unable to take an objective view of your governments policies, and make an objective decision on what they do. Is it really God, Country,Corps without question? There are many things that my government/country has done that I would never even try(or want) to defend. Where do we start with injustices, how about the case of the North American Indians? Or was the land yours to take by divine right as well?

The rest of the world has had to live with terrorism for decades, and now sadly it has landed on your doorstep with avengence. We have had it for years. Now you want to erradicate the problem, and we are helping you ( I am in the gulf right now) Why did you not help us with Northern Ireland, why did the british government do nothing about Zimbabwee? I do not know the answer, but I do know that neither country has any oil, or anything of commercial interest to the US.

Wake up West Coast, to be human is to question. I accepted your points about Hamas, you have not answered any of my questions yet!!

I bet the US will not move on N Korea, the single most significant threat to world peace. They have 1 million soldiers and six million in reserve. They have state of the art technology and inter continental missiles capable of reaching the continental US. They also have a jungle.

Think about it West Coast, before you jump on the Star Spangled Railroad.

[ORAC]

80 percent of North Korea's land area is composed of mountains and uplands. The remainder consists of small coastal plains, the largest covering only 500 square kilometers. The uplands are covered by trees such as fir, oak, larch and birch. The plains have around 1.5 million hectares of fertile land, out of that 1.4 million are farmland.

The winters are long and bitterly cold with clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result of northern winds from Siberia. The high and low temperatures in January are -3°/+13° C. Snowfall averages 37 days in winter. The winters during the Korean war are recorded as one of the worst problems and caused many deaths.

[Blacksheep]

I'm a little puzzled as to why his map of the world includes thoroughly civilised countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam in the 'Gap'.

We're all doing very nicely thank you, and we don't need intervention from anyone else. Least of all the USA; for we well remember the disastrous consequences of the USA's last attempt to intervene in the region. We don't need to go back as far as Lu Zuckerman in our study of history, but the USA has, it seems, already forgotten the lesson of their defeat in South East Asia. They should concentrate on diplomatic engagement and rejoin the rest of civilisation in the UN, trying to make the world a better place by civilised methods. Brute force begets more brute force. Or to put it another way, those who live by the sword, shall die by it.

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[46Driver]

Blacksheep,
You are absolutely correct - we probably shouldn't intervened in Korea either, or Kuwait, or Japan, or Germany, or Germany again....

[West Coast]

My, don't we have our shorts all bunched up now.

First, I agree with your assesment of N Korea. One must only fast forward Saddam with the real deal WMD to know what he would be like.

Second, yes I have spent time in NYC. Its an awfully big stretch having not known a person to doubt with any degree of certainty they haven't been to the most populous city in their nation. I have spent alot of time in London also, any bonus points given for that? Guess its true what is said about assuming. Was based on the east coast for awhile, that allowed me to catch a number of Yankee games among other activities in Gothom city.

Now, on to the main body of bombastic dudu you profer. If aimed at me, you have missed your mark by far. I am reticent to boast about US policy as it does not follow my beliefs. I see you allowed yourself an out by saying some don't understand, well its time to use your get out of jail free pass. To be sure, I DO believe in a strong Israel. Be damn glad the IRA wasn't as tenacious as the Palestinians. If they were, you might understand why they do some of the things they do. I DO support a homeland. Do I think I will see it in my life time, no. Did the US screw the pooch by supporting bad guys, absolutely. I guess we stand next to many powers, western or otherwise that aren't as pure as the driven snow. Is that the mea culpa you seek? Am I free of my demons now?


I do believe in a healthy dialogue. I take a stance when I see it change from persuing a salient point and degrading to a diatribe. Question away, but remain within the lines as to make me happy.

"They have a jungle"..
Is that some veiled reference to something?
Where abouts is it?

[Tigs2]

West Coast

Thanks for your reply. My shorts are really not in a bunch!

I love challenge and debate, - not diatribe, and I believe that everything I have said sofar has foundation. You still have not answered my questions. Bye the way, if the leader of the most powerful country in the world had never been outside the US at the time of his 'Election'(i use that phrase in its loosest possible terms) then it would be fair to assume that an ex US marine living in the west, had never spent significant time in NYC.

I am a military man, but i cannot agree with what is going on in Palastine OR Israel. The use of Apache helis with hellfire missiles kills just as many innocent women and children as suicide bombers from Palastine. The only difference in the two methods of killing is the packaging. One side is able to afford(given by the US) a $30 mill killing machine. The other side fight back the best way they can. It is a war that neither side can win. Israel must pull out of the occupied territories. If Canada decided to take over one of the Northen US states, you boys would be more than slightly p****d off.

You hinted that I might go to a mosque! As I explained, you were wrong. Do you go to a synagouge by any chance? Fair question after your statement.

By the way the Jungle was referring to the big V word. Remember that unmitigated dissaster by the politicians? We are heading for the next one. Go watch 'Blackhawk Down' and see how easy it is to walk into someone elses city and take away their main man. There are going to be a lot of body bags sent back to the US and UK, and if Saddam does have weapons of Mass Destruction then the soldiers will succeed where the weapons inspectors have failed- they will find the WMD because Saddam is in a corner and he will use them!

[Blacksheep]

46Driver, Both the Korean war and the Kuwait war were sanctioned by the UN, indeed the multi-national forces committed in Korea carried the UN letters on their uniforms and transport. Neither of these conflicts resulted in a satisfactory outcome, for they both remain unresolved - i.e. war was no solution.

Your Japanese example is irrelevant, for there was no intervention - Japan attacked the USA, without prior declaration of war, because the USA pushed them to the wall with economic sanctions.

In the case of the two European conflicts involving Germany, complicated treaties created links that inevitably led to war once German expansionist policies were put into action. I agree that this was a failure of the diplomatic process; however, the lesson learned by both Germany and France is the reason why they are so strongly opposed to a unilateral invasion of Iraq this time. Note that neither State opposed intervention in Kuwait or the Balkans, where the action was taken to halt an existing conflict and restore peace.

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[ORAC]

Blacksheep,

You're right, neither France nor Germany opposed intervention in the Balkans. But Russia did, and was prepared to use it's veto. Which is why NATO conducted operations without a Security Council resolution as authorisation. Active military participants included both the French and German armed forces.

It also wasn't to stop an ongoing conflict, but against the oppression of the Kosovan Albanians. Equally valid concerning the oppression of the Kurds by Saddam and the basis of the UN resolution which is used as authority for the No-Fly Zones, set up to protect them. One wonders what, exactly, has changed in international law or sensibilities in the last 4 years.

[BlueWolf]

Jesus ORAC, don't you ever sleep?!

[ORAC]

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep...........

;) ;)

[46Driver]

Blacksheep,
The only reason the UN supported the war in Korea was that the Russians were boycotting the UN - had they been in attendance, it is without a doubt they would have vetoed the resolution. As for the remainder, it is only proof that the UN is irrelevant when it comes to action (or League of Nations if you want to predate the UN) - only when the United States takes the lead do things get accomplished. (Imagine if you will, the Western Hemisphere did not exist - who would have won WW I, WW II, the Korean War, or the remainder of NATO fighting Desert Storm????)

[Tigs2]

46Driver
Now you are really skating on thin ice. Nobody can doubt the sacrifice that the American soldiers and airmen made during ww2, but as a political move, the US has never done anything if it was not in its own interests. The US government only joined in when it had recieved a good stiffing at Pearl Harbour. The government at the time had pushed the Japs to the wall economically, the rest is history. Please also remember the countless thousands of Brits who died in the jungles fighting the Japs for the US. The sacrifice has never been one way.

I would love to sit in and listen to a history lesson in an American school. Just as in Japan they do not teach the kids about the war, I reckon they must tell American kids that the USA really are the saviours of the world (or does the brainwashing occur at USMC training). B******t! Just like the Spanish Inquisition who tried to police the world, I think we are about to witness the US(helped by your friendly allies - we Brits)open a Hornets nest, the like of which has not been seen before.

[46Driver]

Tigs2,
First of all, I never said anything bad about the Brits. I do recognize the sacrifice made by England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. And I have worked with troops from these countries in the past - and I have nothing but glowing praise.
Now for your points:

1) "The US never has done anything not in its own interests" I disagree - especially after having spent 3 months in Somolia where we were trying to feed the people. I could add a few other instances such as giving away the Panama Canal, deploying to Kosovo, stopping training in Vieques, etc - all within the last few years. As for many of the rest: what nation DOES NOT act in its self interest: France, Russia, China?????

2) Tell me: why did we join WW I and not just let Europe slaughter itself?

3) WW II, Yes we did push Japanese Empire to the wall economically but when the war started, it was a "Germany First" policy established at the Washington Conference between Churchill and Roosevelt. By the way, what were the Brits doing in the jungles over there anyway - maybe it had something to do with the Brits and America agreeing on pushing Japan to the wall - which might explain the concerted attack of Dec 7/8 against not only Pearl Harbor but against the Philippines, Wake Island, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Correct me if I am wrong but the last 2 were British...

4) "Spanish Inquisition?""" Hmmm, I think a better analogy would be the US military in the 20th and 21st centuries has assumed the role of the British Navy of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries - namely to provide security.

5) And you didn't answer the question: what would have happened in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Kuwait if we had not shown up???

Feel free to come over and teach history (they would probably love you in San Francisco) or perhaps we could do a point / counterpoint since my undergraduate is in history as well.

[West Coast]

Tig
I appreciate your desire for debate. I will be happy to answer your question(s) if only you would state them.

You say the US acts only in its own self interests. I must disagree. The amount of foreign aid given by the US to developing and third world nations is staggering. Perhaps the omnipresent one can quote chapter and verse as to the exact numbers and distrubution. There is a great deal of good within our own borders that money could be used for. I know of no fiduciary requirement to send the aid overseas, its done out of altruism.

[Tourist]

WC
I hate to disagree with you on this point, but as someone who has experience of government aid to third world countries, I think you will find that the "providing" country almost always comes off better after all the conditions placed on the aid are fullfilled. ie construction companies from the providing country must be used to build new project etc. I am not saying this is wrong, but I dont think that we should pretend that foreign aid is totally altruistic

[Tigs2]

46Driver, West Coast

OK guys! I was just taunting and having a little banter/fun. Life would be very dull without it. I have no axe to grind, the whole world has gone mad. I spent most of my time during the last Gulf War with the USMC near Al Jubayl - The Warhorses were their squadron Nickname. I guess with the recent news in the UK and the impending speech by GWB later this evening, the time for banter and squibbling is over. LIke you guys I am behind every single man and woman out there. God Speed and a safe return home to all.

[Wibbly P]

FOR SALE:

Big Green French Statue. Offers.

Ring Dave NY office tel 0017 18 222 3333

Buyer collects.

[46Driver]

Thought I would bring Barnett's article back to the top and see if there were any fresh comments. It is one of the items we are studying, along with Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations".

http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/CCT510/Sources/Huntington-ClashofCivilizations-1993.html

Comments?