Developing Strategists: Translating National Strategy into Theater Strategy

摘要

Since 1945, the United States has consistently followed a strategic logic of global leadership through international economic and political institutions. The United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, International Monetary Fund, and the predecessor of the World Trade Organization were born and raised in America. Through these institutions and others like them, the United States has been attempting to ameliorate historic rivalries, promote economic development through international trade, and collectively address threats to international peace and security. While there are limits (even for superpowers) that underscore policy inconsistencies, exemplified by economic engagement with China versus the economic isolation of Cuba, such exceptions should not be mistaken for a lack of a grand strategy. Rather, they should be interpreted as outcomes of a democratic political process that enables organized minorities to have significant influence on policy. Washington follows a grand strategy that shapes the security environment. To avoid going from crisis to crisis, the United States, and in particular its national security actors, attempts to defuse situations before they become crises through a strategy of prevention. The challenge for the strategist is to coordinate the various levers of national power in a coherent or smart way. Recent foreign policy frustrations illustrate that power relations are stratified. To be effective in a stratified world, strategists must answer three basic questions: Where do we want to go, or what are the desired ends. How do we get there, or what are the ways. And what resources are available, or what are the means. While the first question is largely the domain of civilian policymakers, military officers are expected to advise on and ultimately implement strategy.