Quality Leadership Weblog :-)

“Tribe Helps Al-Maliki Win Control Of South” (Washington Times)…Rowan Scarborough, May 23, 2008, pg.1

Of all the tactical moves Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made in March to wrest control of southern Iraq from Shi’ite extremists, none was more important than his government’s meetings with tribal sheiks.

On his blog, A bit too convenient … Tom Barnett commenting on an article describing President Bush’s latest trip to the Middle East, identified his expectation that the Middle East may “be largely democratized no later than 2025.”

Barnett also speculates that “Bush calling Iran the equivalent of Nazi Germany is his way of signaling the White House’s pre-approval for any Israeli military strikes on his watch.”

Tribes continue to be a key “stakeholder” in bringing about stability in Iraq. Involving all stakeholders and applying NEW methods is just as critical for bringing about peace throughout the Middle East. If you always do what you always did on average, you’ll usually get what you always got.

Supporting information on this Weblog that represents a NEW approach include the following:

The Leadership Paradigm and Framework page outlines a method that would help to optimize the application of Smart Power by all elements of national power.  Proper application of the framework includes identifying the role that “tribes” play in Iraq.

Regarding a context for the operational environment, I refer you to Tom Barnett’s strategic concept on the need for a Leviathan and Sys Admin Force in managing the threats associated with the “non-integrating gap.”

The Strategery pages helps illustrate the need to stratify application of the framework at the near, mid and long-term (2025) , e.g., different players at different levels working within different timeframes simultaneously working together to achieve a common aim.

The U-Think? page introduces the concept of prediction markets that may be a useful tool for engaging people (stakeholders) in assessing expected outcomes, e.g., do you agree with the projections of a more democratized Middle East in 2025?

And finally, The Manifesto and Connecting the Dots pages  introduces a common language and direction for taking the kind of action that will have a higher probability of success than “the way we’ve always done it.”