Flournoy: How Obama Nat'l Security Breaks With Bush
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Published: 29 Apr 2009 16:35
Pentagon policy chief Michèle Flournoy described April 29 how the Obama administration will fashion and carry out its national security policies, and the plan marks a clear break from the Bush era.
Michele Flournoy said the Obama defense team will use realistic assessments, seek close coordination with allies, heed international accords and engage in difficult situations. (Tom Brown / Staff)
Flournoy said the new security policy machine will use realistic assessments, seek close coordination with allies, heed international accords and engage in difficult situations.
The Bush administration, by contrast, often stuck to ideological aims, repeatedly shunned some traditional U.S. allies, and ignored several global pacts.
During an April 29 presentation at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she once worked as an analyst, Flournoy said the Obama defense team will craft and carry out its policies by following six guiding principles:
* Pragmatism. She told the standing-room-only audience that "we will put pragmatism first, not ideology."
* Constant engagement. Under the Obama team, she said, Washington will "remain engaged in critical regions," something she called "absolutely essential." This will include a "commitment to international norms," strengthening traditional alliances and other things, she said. "Neo-isolationism is not an option," the policy chief said.
* "Smarter" engagement. The administration will think twice about how to use the U.S. military and will be "more proactive" on using America's soft power tools, meaning things like the diplomatic, economic development and political assistance arms of the federal government.
* International pacts. Flournoy promised Washington will "champion the rules of law," including international laws and treaties, while also "leading the way in adapting international orders." The Bush administration shunned global pacts such as the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty
* Alliances. She called traditional alliances "absolutely essential," and stressed the importance of helping partner nations increase their own abilities to take care of problems.
* "Whole of government." "We must recommend that, in many cases, military power will not be enough to deal with 21st century problems," she said. Such matters mean Washington must use "whole-of-government" solutions, which she said requires tools from agencies of all stripes. Critics often blasted the Bush administration for first turning only to the U.S. military to solve global challenges.
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