Nation Building

1. Nation Building Are we built to build nations?

2. Nation Building a Dirty Word? • Stability Operations • A partnership to establish or reestablish the institutions essential to democracy and good governance.

3. Who’s in Charge? • United Nations • Coalition or Regional Security Organization • The United States

4. Why Here and not There? • Inherently a Political Decision • What is the impact on United States interests? • Security • Economic • Historic and Cultural • Humanitarian Intervention • Ideology

5. Who Decides? • The President • National Security Council • The President’s key advisors in all matters relating to national security.

6. National Security Council • Vice President • Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs • Secretaries of: • State • Defense • Treasury • Director of Central Intelligence (intel advisor) • Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (military advisor) • Others, as required

7. Department of State • “Create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community” • Lead Federal Agency – Foreign Affairs • Anything having to do with the international community • Lots of expertise, limited resources

8. Department of State • Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs • Political Affairs • Regional Bureaus • Arms Control and International Security • Economics, Business, and Agriculture • Global • Counterterrorism

9. USAID • US Agency for International Development • The experts in building capacity • Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) • Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)

10. Department of Defense • “To provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the United States” • Roles • Warfighting • Humanitarian Assistance • Peacekeeping • Evacuation • Homeland Security

11. Department of Defense • Office of the Secretary of Defense • Joint Staff • Regional Combatant Commands • Special Operations Command • Lots of resources and enthusiasm

12. Military Services • Army • Navy • Marine Corps • Air Force

13. Stability Operations • Special Operations Command • Special Operations Forces • Special Forces (Green Berets) • SEALS • Special Operations Aviation • Psychological Operations • Civil Affairs • Conventional Forces

14. Political nuance Seeing all sides Inclusiveness Discussion/dialog Revisiting options Ability to reach out Multi-faceted approach Decisiveness Goal oriented Focused Mission driven Planning expertise Unilateral action State vs. Defense

15. Department of Justice • Judicial systems • Rule of Law • Federal law enforcement • Law enforcement training

16. Department of Treasury • Financial systems • Multilateral financing for reconstruction and development

17. Department of Homeland Security • Key skill sets essential for a stable and secure environment • Coast Guard • Border and transportation security • Infrastructure Protection • Immigration

18. Central Intelligence Agency • Training and equipping of security forces • Intelligence • What’s going on? • Who are the important players? • Security threats

19. Other Important Agencies • Department of Labor • Department of Agriculture • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Commerce • Department of Energy • Environmental Protection Agency

20. Where’s Congress? • Funding – money makes policy a reality, otherwise it’s just wishful thinking • Authorities – (who can do what and what can we do with the money) • The curse of narrowly defined authorities • Title 10 and Title 22 • Armed Services, Foreign Relations Committees

21. Other Players • United Nations • World Bank and International Monetary Fund • Other State partners • Regional organizations • Security alliances • Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) • Charities • Interest groups

22. What about the People? • The nation we are trying to build is a wreck for a reason • War and conflict • Ethnic divisions • Religious strife • Refugees and migration • Famine, environmental degradation • No Rule of Law • What do we build?

23. National Security Council Staff • Brings this all together • Orchestrating the Interagency • No authority to direct to action • National Security Council • Deputies Committee (DC) • Policy Coordinating Committees (PCC) • Ad hoc Interagency working groups • Functional and regional agency working groups • Establishing legitimacy

24. Bureaucracy (Not a dirty word) • All designed to give solid policy guidance and advice to the President – based on the consensus of multiple disciplines and perspectives • Pro: • Balanced view from all perspectives • Results in a coordinated, focused US government effort • Coordinated Interagency approach usually has the highest probability of long-term success • Con: • Slow – vulnerability to “rice bowl” stalling, disruption • Low risk, low payoff

25. Bureaucracy • Without a coordinated interagency approach • Lack of Unity of Command • Agencies prone to working at cross purposes • Agencies duplicate efforts • One particular agency’s perspective may dominate • Consequently alienating other agencies • Legitimacy or lack thereof

26. Lead Federal Agency • Most things: State • Military Operations: Department of Defense • Combating terrorism overseas: none of the above

27. So Who’s in Charge? • Deciding who’s in charge has a profound impact on our approach. • It may be that we never resolve this issue • Unity of Command • Unity of Effort • Ability to lead • Ability to follow

28. Defining Success • When can we leave? • Who is in charge when we leave? • Differing perspectives of Democracy • Economic stability and prosperity • Legal institutions and the respect for the rule of law • A state the abides by the norms of respectable international behavior

29. How Have We Done? • Our track record isn’t particularly good • We don’t play well with others • We want to be in charge or we don’t play • We change our minds and our priorities on a whim • Reasonably constant across administrations • We do well managing the family of nationstates

30. Case Studies • Somalia • Sierra Leone • Afghanistan • Iraq

31. Somalia • “Black Hawk Down” • Who was in charge? • UN humanitarian mission • Alleviated the conditions of starvation • In the process strengthened the warlords • US in control of its military forces • Minimal presence (for political reasons) meant no access to key weapons systems • Unable to stabilize the security environment

32. Sierra Leone • Historical ties to the UK • UN peacekeeping mission • British military intervention to establish a stable security environment • State lead • Working through ECOWAS • Providing them the tools and training to establish stability • USAID played a key role • Office of Transition Initiatives

33. Afghanistan • US led military operation - CENTCOM • NATO participation and command of ISAF • Security environment is reasonably stable • Allows infrastructure development • Resources have been made available to do what needs to be done • Sovereign government in charge • Legitimacy

34. Iraq • Who’s in charge? What’s the primary mission? • Initial planning reflected the military nature of the operation – the Defense worldview • Military operation has assumed State-like functions (CPA) • Paul Bremmer, CPA • Iraqi Governing Council • CENTCOM • SOCOM

35. Iraq • Success at the micro level • Individual units and people • Military Police • Civil Affairs • Found wanting at the macro level • Unrealistic assumptions, deadlines, objectives • No clear lines of authority and responsibility • Underfunding the construction of a new state • Inability to build a substantive coalition

36. Future Challenges • Coordinating US efforts • Including other partners • Willingness to follow • Identifying and committing the necessary resources