Blueprint For Action

Blueprint For Action Critical Book Analysis of Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating Barnett, Thomas P.M. Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating. New York, NY: G.P. Putnams Sons, 2005. Thomas P.M. Barnett Weblog. â€Å"Biography.† http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/biography.htm. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States (US) has struggled to define its role as the remaining superpower. Overnight containment and deterrence, the defining strategy of the second half of the 20th century, became questionable and a new grand strategy never emerged to take its place. Without a clear vision, US security policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union has generally relied on maintaining a balance of power in the international system. Then on 11 September 2001 (9/11), the US was attacked by terrorists and suffered its first domestic strategic military shock since the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In reaction, the US has undergone a historic reorganization of government and is waging an unprecedented global war on terrorism. Yet despite the thousands who have died and trillions of dollars spent since 9/11, the US has not established a coherent, sustainable, and realistic grand strategy that accounts for current circumstances and the future world contex t. In an attempt to fill this grand strategy vacuum and contextualize the current world environment Thomas Barnett has written a series of books that provide a new paradigm for understanding our current and future world circumstance. In the first book, The Pentagons New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century, Barnett frames the global dynamics in terms of rule sets that govern globalization and provides a vision for achieving global security. In the second book, Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating, Barnett delivers the specifics of actualizing this vision and is the subject of this essay. Specifically, this paper critically analyzes Blueprint for Action because it is inspirational in scope, relevant to the future of US national security strategy, and has implications that warrant serious military consideration. Thomas Barnett is a strategic planner who has worked in national security affairs since the end of the Cold War. Earning a PhD in Political Science at Harvard, Barnett served as professor at the Naval War College, senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and has been involved with several strategic related Department of Defense activities. Over the last decade, Barnett has authored two books, written several articles, and has been widely read by civilian and military audiences. Building off the vision articulated in Pentagons New Map, the thesis of Blueprint for Action is that in order to close the gap between the Core states (healthy and functioning) and the Gap states (unhealthy and disfunctioning) the US must lead a Core state effort to establish the rule sets and institutions that will connect Gap states with the benefits of globalization. This in turn will reduce threats to Core states, promote universal inclusiveness, and foster global peace. Barnett passionately argues, â€Å"we need to make sure our security rule sets match our growing network connectivity, and that our political rule sets keep pace with our economic transactions.† To accomplish this, the book postulates two fundamental actions to make this a reality. First, a System Administrator Force (SysAdmin) comprised of Core state capability must be created to ensure that combat intervention into Gap states have the required follow on forces to win the hearts and minds by rebuilding infrastructure, enabling government, etc. Barnett points out that the US militarys warfighting capacity (Leviathan) and the supporting US economy is not optimized for securing the security environment lying between war and peace. Weapons procurement and service centric force generation designed to support the Cold War high-end strategies of a bipolar world no longer apply to the multipolar globalized environment where low-end fourth generation warfare (4GW) requirements prevail. Given this, the US must â€Å"transform† its military to address existing and forecast security needs and enlist other Core state participation. To this end Barnett posits that dividing the military into a Leviathan force that prosecutes high-end war characterized primarily by US airpower (Air Force and Navy) and a SysAdmin force (Army and Marines) characterized by low-end 4GW proficient capability is required to address the war-peace gap. Moreover, the multinational SysAdmin force would be comprised primarily of other Core states and the significant US contribution would be its global logistics capability and 20% of the overall force structure. This approach would then leverage existing Core state military competencies and create a counterbalance to a US dominated Leviathan force. Even if the White House and all four services bought into this argument, the problem with this construct is that it makes the assumption that Core states will entrust the US with the preponderance of a Leviathan force. Essentially this proposal suggests that non-US Core states command the majority of the soft power and the US command the hard power. Given this, it is doubtful that rising powers such as China will find this arrangement appealing. Similarly, Russia with their resurgence of nationalism along with most European nations that comprise the majority of the Core states will also be suspicious of what would appear to be the US trying to corner the market on high-end warfare. Additionally, Core nations in general will be reluctant to support US combat dominance given its preemptive track record over the last five years. Barnetts blueprint suggests that the employment of force would not happen without the concurrence of â€Å"fellow great powers† because America would be deterred by the realization without the [multinational] SysAdmin little would change in a targeted Gap state. Unfortunately, this logic does not deter the US from pursuing its own vital interests in spite of other Core state objections. What this construct proposes is that the US will monopolize what matters most hard power and global reach. Therefore, the strategy is idealistic in that it does not provide a compelling case for US or its allies. Knowing that a constrained fiscal environment will challenge the preeminence of US power over the next 50 years, rising powers like China will be just as inclined to wait out an eventual decline of American strength. What Barnett fails to provide is a more convincing rationale to support his idea. To do this he needs to address how the US will give up its unilateral preemption policy and assuage Core state fears of US monopolizing hard power. For example, high-end weapon system development could be intentionally spread over multiple Core st ates. By making the US dependent on various foreign sources for arms manufacturing it would leverage the benefits of globalization, increase the interconnectivity of the Core, and create distributed weapon system dependency to keep the US in check militarily. Clearly, many in the US (i.e. military and defense contractors) would object to this, but for a global grand strategy of this nature to succeed checks and balances will need to be structurally imbedded into the institutional framework to foster trust and discourage unilateral tendencies. From a theater strategic joint warfighting perspective, Barnett is proposing a major transformation of US military force structure and strategy that is dependent on other Core state participants as much as they would be dependent on the US. To actualize this blueprint the Army would be optimized for 4GW and the Marine Corps should remain a mini-Leviathan within the SysAdmin force. Additionally, Civil Affairs units embedded in the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) would be integrated into the Army. The idea is to reconfigure US military forces into distinct Leviathan and SysAdmin force structures. This transformation also implies developing the ability to synchronize with the SysAdmin forces of other Core states and provide the logistical framework for rapid global deployment and sustainment. Given the existing issues involved with US force development the scale and scope of developing synchronized Core wide resourcing, doctrine, training, and equipping is questionable. The second postulate that Barnett advances is the requirement to establish global rule sets to guide Core state actions for dealing with politically bankrupt states inside the Gap and individual terrorists. The goal of these rule sets is to create transparency, reduce uncertainty, generate non-zero-sum outcomes, and foster a sense that everyone needs to play by the Cores emerging rules. The problem with the Gap rule set is that initiation of Core action is dependent on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to achieve consensus. Additionally, the rule set does not address how to reconstitute targeted Gap states politically in their transition to peace. Culture, religion, and other factors will clearly make any national rehabilitation unique, and Barnett fails to specify a fundamental political organizing philosophy. Clear political organizing principles need to be articulated to ensure the transparency. Finally, because the blueprint suggests that SysAdmin military force is structu rally divided among Core states the rule set would need to address how Core states will collectively react to an attack. Without a doubt, Blueprint for Action is a â€Å"must read† because it offers a plausible context for understanding the global security environment and a framework for addressing the threats we face today. More importantly, Barnetts paradigm forces readers to leap beyond national constraints and allows for the conceptualization of optimizing civil and military joint capability mulitnationally. Finally, Barnett offers an optimistic â€Å"future worth creating† and plants the seed for an international discussion on proactively securing the future for our planet.

Saint George And The Dragon

This oil painting on canvass was created in 1470 by Paolo Uccello (whose real name is Paolo di Dono), an Italian artist. The subject of the painting is the story of Saint George as he overpowers and slays the dragon that has been a menace and a fright to the citizens of the city. As Saint George kills the dragon, the Libyan Princess was saved. The painting illustrated a space that is 3-dimensonal. Uccello effectively applies his skill in linear perspective. He has likewise decorated his pattern beautifully and colorfully. This can be clearly seen on the wings of the dragon. Using the canvas as a medium demonstrated the renaissance characteristic of the work of Uccello (which is the Italian word for â€Å"bird†), as he and his work belonged to that period of rebirth. Just like the way he has painted Saint George and the Dragon, the canvas vividly tells a story and thus a rational approach to the work. The characters painted in the story are presented to be elegant, beautiful and graceful. The lighting that is illustrated in the painting is not real but created for purposes of highlighting the story and not necessarily the reality of how and when the story happened. Saint George and the Dragon’s linear perspective is a semblance of old Gothic technique in painting. The skill was a challenge that renaissance artists like Uccello faced. He illustrated his paintings that convince â€Å"illusion of the way our world looks†. This then signified the temperament of artists in the Renaissance such as a sense of independence; the utilization of subjects of secular in nature as the object of the art; and the freedom of the individual style. Therefore, Paolo Uccello indeed illustrated in Saint George and the Dragon what is significant in the story as he emphasizes what is specific and at the same time, subtle ability of his imagination.

The Honest to Goodness Truth on Essay Example Topics

The Honest to Goodness Truth on Essay Example Topics The Battle Over Essay Example Topics and How to Win It You should write an introduction to decide on a context and offer a concise breakdown of why the topic was chosen. So you don't actually wish to locate a topic! Topics can change depending on your majors. When you are finished with introducing the subject, you should work on the principal paragraphs. Writing your very first APA format essay can be a bit intimidating at first, but learning a number of the basic rules of APA style can provide help. Always make certain you take a look at the review my essay section of any writing service website you're thinking of using. You also need to place a comprehensive reference in the close of the work, at the bibliography page. Nowadays different academic institutions need different forms of text formatting. The whole paper ought to be double-spaced. Therefore, if you're supposed to make an essay in MLA format, but not even certain where to begin, stick to our MLA format example essay and you'll readily get through the writing process. Just select the one you're feeling passionate about and get started creating an outstanding essay! An academic essay always must be relevant. Nowadays you know what it can take to receive an ideal essay score. The best method to find out how to find a high Analytical Writing score is to examine a GRE essay sample, but doing so with no guidance can be overwhelming. Since academic essays are popular in the area of education and research, you have to be certain your writing is both logical, interesting and informative. Essay writing per se is no simple undertaking to do. Writing a proposal essay isn't as difficult as it might sound, it isn't important the way your professor or teacher describes it. Writing a great persuasive essay is not a simple job, however, it's achievable. The Basics of Essay Example Topics Therefore, an analytical essay is a bit of writing that gives an informative observation about the particular topic or idea. You must make the reader feel, smell and realize the object that you describe. You need to make sure your reader will be in a position to verify your references, so make sure to cite them accurately. Convince your reader that you're right. Following that, you must construct your own claim, and compose an essay around that. To end the whole essay, it's crucial to make an overall concluding statement. Argumen t essays ask you to take a position on debatable troubles. Essentially, informative essay is about explaining a topic with excellent detail. It is essential to safeguard writers from allegations of plagiarism when it has to do with referencing. You should properly utilize citations as a way to avert some critical allegations of plagiarism. Taking into account that lots of persuasive essays concern controversial topics, before writing, you might want to sit down and think of what your opinion on the topic actually is. The introduction covers the principal problem or question an essay addresses. It's possible for you to incorporate a huge sum of recent research, developing a well-thought essay. Instance of a wide topic narrowed down into a fair synthesis essay topic. Essay Example Topics: the Ultimate Convenience! When prior brainstorming is finished, you can begin drafting your essay. These tips offer you some helpful guidelines which will help you prepare your paper and make sure it is formatted properly. When utilizing a template for a guide, always make sure it's applicable to the study that you're practicing or the academic area or discipline at which you will use your academic essay. You simply must be in a position to be comfortable with a couple examples, and be certain you can effectively relate them to your analysis.

Importance Of Cell Phones In School - 809 Words

Have you ever been interrupted in class with a cell phone going off? Nothing is worse than a phone interrupting you during class. Some schools try to prevent this. For example, at George Washington Middle School, students have to have their phones turned off and in their lockers. Although many people believe phones should be in schools for resources, phones shouldn’t be allowed because theyre distracting. they can hurt your education, and they can cause cyberbullying. Phones should not be allowed in school because they are distracting. Many students bring their phones to school for non-educational uses. They use them for social media and for games. A teacher, Becky Dieffenbachs, opinion is that bringing your own devices becomes a†¦show more content†¦Kids can go to an online cheating website and it can give them free answers. That means kids can use the website to cheat on tests and other work. They can also pass on information to others without the teacher knowing . A new survey found that more than one third of teens with cellphones admit to having stored information on them to look at during a test or texting friends about answers (Miners).Students admit to cheating with information off their phones which demonstrates they have no place in the classroom. Madeline Jones, a recent graduate of Baylake Pines School in Virginia Beach, Va., says that for regular in-class exams, sneaky students can easily take advantage of the iPhone, (Miners). When kids have their cell phones in class they can use them as a tool to cheat on test. Cheating is a reason why schools shouldnt allow cell phones in schools. Students don’t only use their phones to cheat in class. They also use them to cyberbully. Cell phones can create cyberbullying issues. Many parents are concerned about lifting the ban on cell phones, (Kiema). Cell phones in schools can encourage bullying and sexting during school hours. Students are more likely to say inappropriate things by texting instead of face to face. These conversations can go on throughout the day which can cause more issues. Some schools in New York City have taken cell phones out of schools due to the amount ofShow MoreRelatedImportance Of Cell Phones In School721 Words   |  3 Pages Are cells phones an improvement of learning to students? Phones and/or other electronic device are things that people are overly devoted to. Students are the main ones who are reliable on their phone for information and trending topics. The reliability on phones for students is tremendous and creates ways for students to learn topics that are far from being leaned by teaching. Learning on a phone is an easy access although for some it is not when students do not have the possession of one. TheseRead MoreThe Importance Of Cell Phones In School1024 Words   |  5 PagesCell phones. Mobile devices that allow millions across the world to communicate and reach out. 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