I have good news and bad news. The good news is Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon have drafted a directive to decrease post-war instability in countries we invade. The bad news is they just came up with this plan — instead of 20 months ago.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s office has prepared a directive instructing the military’s four-star regional commanders to “develop and maintain” new war plans designed to lessen the chance of postwar instability like the situation in Iraq.
The directive, still in draft form, amounts to a concession that prewar planning for Iraq fell short. The 11-page document calls for a huge expansion of efforts to train officers in foreign languages and cultures as well as a “major program” to develop technologies that would make the Pentagon more adept at finding and tracking individuals, such as terrorists. It also proposes expanding the military’s role in intelligence gathering, pushing it into some areas that in the past were primarily the responsibility of the Central Intelligence Agency.
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The order also would compel the Pentagon to involve the State Department and other civilian agencies — largely frozen out of Iraq war planning — in postconflict plans and operations. The most sweeping and fundamental changes, however, appear to be reserved for the Defense Department, particularly the Army.
First of all, it’s tragic that the administration is just now getting to a draft of a plan on how to minimize post-combat instability.
Second, it’s terribly amusing to see Rumsfeld’s Defense Department move further from the Cheney model of international affairs and Bush’s opposition to “nation-buidling.” Hmm, larger role for the State Department, greater cooperation with civilian agencies, and a renewed push for intelligence gathering from the military. Who’s approach does that sound like?