Same problem, same prescription

LAT op-ed by Congressman Mike Honda, Dem from CA, by way of Chris Ridlon.

Great logic:

Given the comparatively weak Afghanistan team, and the fact that the Iraq inspector general's office is due to close in 2012 despite 50,000 troops and 80,000 defense contractors still operating in Iraq, we need a better form of oversight. Iraq and Afghanistan — and every other U.S. "contingency operation" involving billions of taxpayer dollars — should be under the watchful eye of a permanent, independent Office for Contingency Operations, with its own special inspector general. Rather than a piecemeal and reactive approach to the oversight of billions of dollars in these situations, we need a dedicated shop run by a proven investigator who can report to the National Security Council, and the Defense and State departments, without being cowed by political pressure.

We cannot afford to continue overseas relief and reconstruction efforts in an ad-hoc fashion, spending billions of taxpayer dollars under "emergency" pretexts with too few conditions and too little coordination, transparency, oversight and evaluation. It weakens our economic and national security.

You need a Department of Everything Else because the current approach simply wastes too much money and too much opportunity - and too many lives.

You can say we won't do any more of these, but you're kidding yourself. This is basically all that's left. We either do it or withdraw from the field, because fantasies of terrorists wielding loose nukes or rampaging pirates taking over globalization are silly.  There as two rogue regimes that want protection from U.S. invasion and believe nukes will buy them that (duh), and then there's the now rather symmetricized counter-terror effort spread across 75 states (SOF and drones and other nasty bits), and then there are the issues of failed states.  We can likewise fantasize about months-long bombing campaigns the width and breadth of China - that don't trigger nuclear war - but then we're into the serious nonsense.

Use your mentality.  Walk up to reality.

Comments

[Critt Jarvis]

Turn of a word: Familiar problem, similar prescription

Writing the introduction to Hugh Walpole's Semantics, I.A. Richards posits, "Ideas are organisms and do things: different things in different conditions." So I wonder:

If the conception of the Department of Everything Else is to be birthed in the Office for Contingency Operations, what characteristics of the DOE will prevail in whatever conceptions ensue?

[David Emery]

Even with a DoEE, we'd still need this oversight activity. A DoEE won't get rid of DoD or Dept of State.

And starting with the oversight activity, reporting to Congress, might (if Congress were paying attention) lead to a better motivation to establish the DoEE with appropriate responsibilities worked out between DoEE, State and DoD (and probably a bunch of other players, DNI/CIA, DHS, Justice, etc.)