A Foreign Policy Stimulus Package
By Scott Osterling and John Coleman
In February, Barack Obama committed another 17,000 troops to Afghanistan. This is an important effort, but it may not be enough to secure a lasting peace. States like Afghanistan need security, but they also need stabilization and reconstruction - something the U.S. is poorly organized to provide. President Obama should consider a "stimulus package" that organizes the U.S. foreign policy apparatus to support these functions will do the job.
Right now, the most frequently occurring threat to the international order and US national security is the chaotic violence of failed states. These failures often end in humanitarian disaster and are breeding grounds for extremism. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been involved in or contributed resources to at least 17 "stabilization and reconstruction" (S&R) operations designed to mitigate or prevent state failures around the world. These efforts vary in character. Some, like those in Bosnia and Kosovo, are efforts to keep warring parties separated. Others, like those in Somalia, are designed to forestall humanitarian crisis. Still others, like Iraq and Afghanistan, involve post-combat nation-building. These missions are common, but the U.S. has never institutionalized the capabilities to deal with them.
Now the United States must make substantive changes to its national security apparatus, including the Departments of State and Defense, to bring its security capabilities forward into the 21st century. We suggest three adaptations.
First, the Department of State needs to be the lead agency for S&R. State should establish a Joint Staff for S&R Operations that falls under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Secretary of State for Stabilization and Reconstruction. This staff could be subdivided into geographic areas that would conform to similar areas of responsibility of Defense's Combatant Commands. And the U.S. should fill "on-the-ground" S&R needs by expanding the role of State and other agencies in supplying personnel. This staff could coordinate interagency stability operations in peacetime, and in wartime, assist combatant commanders in planning for post-conflict operations as part of their theater campaign plans. Defense would still be the largest supporting agency, responsible for security, logistics, and liaison with the geographic combatant commanders. But this structure would allow military commanders to focus their training on fighting wars, not building infrastructure.
Second, President Obama should consider establishing an Assistant to the President for Reconstruction Policy who would sit on the National Security Council. This person could oversee interagency S&R efforts and insure that each mission has the right capabilities. Similar to the Assistant for Counter-Terrorism during the Clinton Administration, this NSC member could coordinate S&R efforts from different departments.
Finally, the president should expand the S&R capabilities of the Department of State. In 2004, State created the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization and subsequently added a Civilian Response Corps (CRC), acknowledging the need for civilian S&R capabilities. The program has not progressed sufficiently. Its $238M 2009 budget is less than the budget of a comparable force in Canada and less than 0.01% of the 2009 Defense budget, and current FY 2009 staffing (250 active; 2,000 reserve) is inadequate. DOS should considering more than quadrupling these numbers - both active and reserve - and modeling the reserve component after one of Defense's reserve forces, complete with reemployment rights. These CRC personnel should be knowledgeable of specific regions and consist of experts in all areas necessary to effective S&R within those regions, such as education, microfinance, irrigation, engineering, language, law, or religion. The joint staff could then "reach back" for the capabilities it needs to respond to a particular crisis. Beyond their work on U.S. led efforts, these teams could actively engage other international organizations in peacetime - training the forces of other nations to address the same issues and winning allies in the battle against international anarchy and violence.
There is no better time to initiate these efforts. President Obama has expressed a dedication to enhancing civilian resources and encouraging national service. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been an ardent supporter of expanding the State Department's role in S&R operations, a position he reiterated recently in Foreign Affairs, stating "the United States needs a military whose ability to kick down the door is matched by its ability to clean up the mess and even rebuild the house afterward." S&R is no longer a policy choice. It's a global reality. If the President wants to make a lasting impact in his first 100 days, he'll push for changes that address the fundamental challenge of stabilization and reconstruction in the 21st Century.
Scott Osterling and John Coleman are concurrent MBA/MPA candidates at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School, where Coleman is a Zuckerman Fellow. Osterling is a former Army Special Forces officer and served 2 tours in Iraq.