Recap of Joint Warfighting Conference, Day 2

ON SCENE REPORT: Joint Warfighting Conference 2009, Day 2, By James J. Lidington, Naval Institute News, USNI, May 14, 2009

Here are the parts about Tom:

The day began with provocative defense analyst and best-selling author Thomas P. M. Barnett. Synthesizing arguments made in his recent series of books on the subject, Barnett presented a whirlwind overview of trends - historical, economic, political and demographic - shaping battlefields of the next several decades.

First pic:

Then, the longer second part:

A map shown by Thomas P.M. Barnett during his plenary address told the story of future conflicts in which he believes America and its allies are likely to be involved. Barnett plotted on a global map all the locations to which the U.S. has sent troops abroad since the Cold War. The plots left out a huge swath of territory stretching from South America through most of Africa to Western and Southeast Asia.

This band Barnett calls "The Gap," territories that also have been economically dependent on other countries. Gap countries also rank among the top in food imports and will likely suffer most from global climate change and heightening tensions within their borders. Consequently, they are likely to become hot spots where American military forces could be called, he said.

Further, he suggested, the Gap will tend to shrink over time as the nations of the East, flush with the fruits of capitalism, rise to meet the needs that an economically troubled America cannot, he said. Barnett said the U.S. should work to shrink the gap by exporting security, not arms, to the "worst security sinkholes" the Gap has to offer.

Bringing the Gap countries up to speed points out a difference between the current abilities of the U. S. - which he termed a "leviathan force" and "the biggest gun" - and burgeoning economies in India and China, which apply what he called "system administrator forces," - "more civilian than uniformed, more private-sector-funded than public-aided." Americans could stand to apply more soft power abroad, he said, focusing more on economic development.

Creating economic opportunity is key to smothering developing world conflict, concluded Barnett. In other words: "Jobs are the only exit strategy."

Second pic:

Comments

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