Ontology of What Is or Is Not or Is this Week

What should we talk about? There is a lot going on in the world this week, which means there is not much going on in the world this week. Let’s see…so-called big report out from The Atlantic Council about the Future of the Army — yawn. You can read it, but I will forewarn you, it says a lot without saying a lot. It is a disappointing read if you are looking for some halfway decent analysis of actual challenges facing the future Army force. Let me sum up the report, which corresponds with other similar analyses: do more/further/faster.

What about the UN? What is going on with our nations, united in New York? Well, there is the President’s final address — blah blah blah. I may surprise some about my political perspective, but that withstanding, this was the standard trope: do more/together/forever.

Syria? Too complicated. Or rather, complex. Complicated and complex. Complexly complicated. Complexicated. Unsolvable…for now.

There was an interesting tussle between Pakistan and India. Now, there is an opportunity to look at the consequence of antagonistic nuclear powers and the risk of a troubled nuclear state losing control of its arsenal to extreme organizations. What could this mean for the region: do more/against each other/thanks big brother (U.S.).

Colombia and the FARC? Nah.

U.S.-Russia relations? We’ve seen this before. Watch Rocky IV. “I must brrrake you.” “Dragooooo!”

The U.S. election? Definitely no.

Refugees? We should talk about it, but we won’t.

How about this, then? Let us look at what is, or rather, what is not about this last week. Unless, what is not is conceived of as not, and therefore is conceived and therefore actually is. Thus, what was not this week, actually was because we conceived it as so— as not — and by conceiving it as not it actually was. More likely, though, what was, was simply not what it was. For more on this ontological argument — what is — enjoy this important piece of philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ont-arg/. St. Anselm gives us much to think about when there is much to think about or when we have not much to think about. Enjoy the weekend.

Who are You Going to Call? Pentagon? or State?

I have to admit, this recommended reading is a bit like reading a phone book. It is dry. However, much like the phone book, the more you read into it, the more you will discover...So that's where the Templeton's live...Look, there's our address!...Are there that many auto dealers in town?...Where do I go to give plasma? On that note, where does one find the inner details of foreign policy? In authorities.

An interesting Congressional Research Service report looks into some of the authorities that DoD has allowing them to provide resources for a wide range of security assistance or security cooperation activities. The August CRS report, DOD Security Cooperation: An Overview of Authorities and Issues, looks at the variety of authorities the Department of Defense has acquired to conduct security assistance, or in DoD terms, security cooperation activities. This is an important topic because at the heart of it is a very contentious debate about the fundamental nature of U.S. foreign policy. Who defines foreign policy? The president? The State Department? The Department of Defense? Angelina Jolie? Since 2001, there has been a perceived shift, at least in dollars, toward the DoD's ability to do activities traditionally left up to other agencies, namely the DoS. There are a number of reasons why that is so, and we can look more at them later.

Nevertheless, a serious political and academic debate centers on this idea of proponency. Who is the proponent for managing foreign policy? Is that not a designated State responsibility? They would say it is; however, they are not funded in the same manner and with the same capabilities and with the same forcible authorities given to DoD. Therefore, DoD has found itself at the forefront of shaping foreign policy rather than just providing a set of tools with which State or others could shape policy.

This is one of the key cautions mentioned in a fantastic new book by Rosa Brook. If you have not bought your copy of How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, I really encourage you to. She challenges the underpinnings of our current bureaucracy and its tendency to press the “easy button” with DoD. One of the questions she implies is, along what kind of trajectory might a foreign policy that relies heavily – or too heavily – on the military, head? Anyway, regarding security assistance or security cooperation, here is a good analysis of authorities that have been given to the DoD. I would encourage reading carefully through the appendix too. The appendix lists many of those authorities. Trust me; they are quite interesting…like discovering there are actually piano tuners in town – several of them.