Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

Clinton Touts ‘Smart Power’ Use, (Washington Times)…Nicholas Kralev, Jan 14, 2009
Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged Tuesday to use “smart power” to reduce the military’s role in U.S. foreign policy and put a “civilian face” on America’s role abroad after the Bush administration’s heavy reliance on the use of force.

Interview With Defense Secretary Gates, (PBS)…Charlie Rose, Dec 17, 2008.
In a Wednesday night interview, Defense Secretary Gates discusses several topics, including how national security policy may change in the Obama administration, and events in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.
DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: My biggest concern in Afghanistan is the history of foreign armies in Afghanistan going [...]

U.S. Military To Target Terror Finance Networks, (Bloomberg.com)…Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News
…The initiative was spurred by the success of a joint team of Treasury and Special Forces that has been operating in Iraq since 2005 and it reflects the renewed emphasis under Defense Secretary Robert Gates to improve capabilities in irregular warfare, said Edward Frothingham, who [...]

Should Anthropologists Work Alongside Soldiers?, (USA Today)…Dan Vergano and Elizabeth Weise

The military for years has enlisted anthropologists, depending on their expertise to write up analyses of distant places and cultures.
At the just-concluded American Anthropological Association meeting here, the question of whether anthropologists should take part in military operations took the stage, though not for the [...]

Note that Secretary of Defense Gates is referencing “Defense” strategy - a balanced concept is also needed for the National Security Strategy that would more effectively integrate the “whole-of-government” approach.
ESSAY: A Balanced Strategy, Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age, Robert M. Gates From Foreign Affairs, January/February 2009

The defining principle of the Pentagon’s new National Defense [...]

The Armed Services provide one of the better examples of a learning organization which is demonstrated by the current debate in Parameters, on the concept of Effect-based Operations (EBO) to include my response via a  letter to the editor.Â
Many of the modern day quality improvement methods were pioneered by the War Department during WWII and evolved into programs/initiatives that [...]

Productive Partnerships Make Region Stronger, (Miami Herald)…James Stavridis, Dec 2, 2008
For the past two years at U.S. Southern Command our approach to security cooperation with the 45 nations and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean has been simple — “real and vibrant partnership for the Americas.”
So, is there a real and vibrant partnership for [...]

The elements of national power within the U.S. are categorized into four areas: Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic (DIME).  Soft power is Diplomatic, Informational and Economic. Hard power is Military.
Soft power is best used to prevent conflict and Hard power (military) provides the credibility that Soft power needs to be effective.  The United Nations for example, is limited [...]

Cartwright: Afghanistan War Tougher Than Iraq(ArmyTimes.com)…Rick MazeThe vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs warned Monday that U.S. troops and their families should not expect to relax if operations in Iraq wrap up soon. Marine Gen. James Cartwright, speaking Monday in Arlington, Va., before a symposium sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America, predicted the [...]

Shultz: Bush Defense Policy Should Stay…Donald Lambro, Nov 18, 2008.
Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz says President-elect Barack Obama should practice President Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive defense against terrorism that has kept the country safe since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mr. Shultz credited Mr. Bush with pushing “a controversial but important idea” he said has [...]