The Vital National Interest of the United States - Assignment Example

Love. 4 Questions The vital national interest of the United s, which is at risk in Afghanistan, is interconnected with the momentum gained by al-Qaida and Taliban in the Middle Eastern region of Asia, especially in Afghanistan. One can see that the war in Iraq sidetracked the attention of the US Forces from Afghanistan. Besides, the attention given to the war in Iraq deeply influenced the allocation of resources and diplomatic effort in Afghanistan. Within this context, the situation in Afghanistan became uncontrollable and most of the al-Qaida leaders were able escape to the border areas of Pakistan. On the other side, the interim government in Afghanistan was helpless because it was facing a number of internal and external problems like corruption, illegal trade of opium, underdeveloped economy and security breach. At the same time, Taliban was seeking cooperation with al-Qaida and to subdue the interim government in Afghanistan. In National Defense Strategy document, the defense secretary (2008) makes clear that “Violent extremist movements such as al-Qaeda and its associates comprise a complex and urgent challenge” (p.2). As the Middle East (say, especially Afghanistan) is considered as the core of international terrorist plots, the national interest of the United States is at risk in this area. To be specific, the 9/11 incident proves that al-Qaida in Afghanistan is behind the global spread of terrorism. So, the U.S. government must deal with the grass root level reason behind the global spread of terrorism. Almost all the world nations face the problem of terrorism and religious fundamentalism. In addition, the problem of terrorism can be dealt with military involvement because other ways prove ineffective. Our military involvement supports the vital national interest because the ultimate aim of the US forces in Afghanistan is to interrupt and dismantle the international terrorist groups which operate from Afghanistan. One can see that coordination and cooperation between the military and the civilians in Afghanistan can easily handle the threat from al-Qaida. The military involvement is inevitable in Afghanistan because Taliban is powerful enough to conduct counterattacks and the leaders of al-Qaida made use of the Pak-Afghani border as a shelter. So, one can easily identify that the situation in Afghanistan is worse and US security is at risk. Besides, military involvement in this area aims to keep pressure upon the terrorist groups like Taliban and al-Qaida. In short, military involvement in Afghanistan is unavoidable because it supports the vital national interest of the United States. 2. The Department of Defense (DoD)’s tendency to focus on conventional conflicts is based upon the Cold War strategy. One can easily identify that this strategy is not practical and is impossible to implement in irregular wars. For instance, the international terrorist groups make use of irregular warfare and conventional warfare based upon military power cannot withstand the same. So, the 2008 National Defense Strategy (NDS) is vital to counterbalance DoD’s tendency to focus on conventional conflicts. Within this context, NDS aims to implement a number of measures. One can see that the NDS provides ample importance to long-term effort by confronting the challenges faced by conventional warfare, which proved to be ineffective. From a different angle of view, NDS’s aim to adopt innovation into the context of contingency planning, development of different forces, and intelligence work are utmost important to amalgamate innovation into DoD. In National Defense Strategy document, the defense secretary (2008) makes clear that “We must tailor deterrence to fit particular actors, situations, and forms of warfare” (p.12). Besides, the NDS is aware of the importance of irregular warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. For instance, irregular warfare tactics and partnership can be helpful to win wars in the Middle Eastern regions. One can see that NDS put forth innovative ideas to equip the security institutions within DoD. This initiative is vital to counterbalance DoD’s tendency to focus on conventional conflicts. At the same time, evaluation of the tactical environment (say, where irregular warfare is to be used), possible challenges and risks are also important. On the other side, China is planning to transform its conventional military to cope up with irregular warfare. In the 21st century, wars are not limited to the context of direct confrontation. The innovative ideas put forth by the NDS prove that the U.S. Forces need to adopt irregular warfare to face threats from rogue states with nuclear weapons. So, the U.S. Armed Forces need to adopt measures to improve its skills to cope up with the challenges in irregular warfare. The creation/integration of new commands within DoD, like Northern and Africa Commands, can be considered as an innovative measure from NDS to counterbalance DoD’s tendency to focus on conventional conflicts rather than irregular wars. 3. The ultimate aim of the U.S. approach towards Somalia, which can be seen in the attached Report on U.S. Strategy, is to eliminate the rapid spread of terrorism in this area. One can easily identify that an unstable government cannot handle to problem of rapid spread of terrorism. Within this context, the U.S. effort is to support the people of Somalia to establish a strong central authority/political leadership to handle the problem of terrorism. From a different angle of view, political instability hinders the growth and development of Somalia. As pointed out, the U.S policy in Somalia will be based upon counterterrorism, or the effort to eliminate al-Qaida from this the Horn of Africa. Besides, the presence of the U.S. Forces and its allies will help to maintain stability in this region. One can easily identify that the end result of the U.S policy in Somalia will be the elimination of terrorism from the Horn of Africa. There are so many associated ways to attain this end result. To be specific, the Report on U.S. Strategy towards Somalia envisions a number of ways to attain the end result. One can easily identify that political dialogue among different groups in Somalia can resolve the issue of an unstable political leadership. So, the U.S government aims to encourage the political dialogue among different groups in Somalia. The next step will be the deployment of a stabilization/peacekeeping force to maintain peace in Somalia. This is an important way to attain the ultimate aim because an international peacekeeping force can control the situation in Somalia. Besides, regional support is important to implement the decision in an effective manner. The next step will be to seek international help and support to rebuild Somalia as a strong nation with a stable government. The Report on U.S. Strategy towards Somalia proves that the U.S. government is aiming to provide ample importance to diplomatic effort in Somalia. For instance, bilateral, local and multilateral diplomatic efforts are important. The assistance programs include financial and political response. At the same time, the Report on U.S. Strategy towards Somalia provides ample importance to counterterrorism response, humanitarian response, public affairs strategy and interagency coordination. 4. The absence of a central authority is the most important risk within the context of Somalia. The responsibility to create a strong central authority which can handle the internal problems will be fully vested upon the U.S. Forces and its allies deployed to Somalia. This is extremely risky because Somalia is facing internal problems, clan wars, terrorism, economic problems and underdevelopment. To be specific, Report on U.S. Strategy towards Somalia is similar to the creation of a new nation from scratch. Yarger (2006) states that “Nonetheless, the strategy development process by its nature evaluates the appropriateness, practicality, the consequences of policy, and thus informs policy of the art of the possible and the costs and benefits of achievement or failure” (p.51). Besides, the available resources must be utilized to reconstruct Somalia. Within this context, the threat from the terrorist groups which operate from the Horn of Africa is to be handled effectively. One can easily identify that the terrorist groups like al-Qaida consider Somalia as a safe place to coordinate their operations. The terrorist groups which operate from the Middle East consider that Somalia is a safe place. The internal problems faced by Somalia attract the terrorist groups to spread their influence among the mass. Some of the international terrorist groups like al-Qaida are able to influence the people of Somalia. So, the influence of the terrorist groups among the people of Somalia is one of the most important risks to the U.S. effort in this area. The U.S. government needs to consider the opinion of its allies and other world nations. This is important because the rapid spread of terrorism is not a regional phenomenon. Instead, the terrorist groups operate from Middle East, makes use of the Horn of Africa as a safe place to plan their future actions and strike innocent civilians. So, one can see that the most important risk that faced by the U.S. Forces in Somalia will be the influence of a number of terrorist groups among the mass. On the other side, reconstruction of Somalia and internal problems will be other risks. The international effort to deploy a peacekeeping force to deal with the situation in Somalia will be a tiresome effort. Within this context, regional cooperation with other African nations will be crucial. In short, terrorism, lack of central authority and reconstruction can be considered as important risks in Somalia. References Department of Defense, United States of America. 2008. National Defense Strategy. Retrieved from www.defense.gov/news/2008%20national%20defense%20strategy.pdf Yarger, H.R. (2006). Strategic Theory for the 21st Century: The Little Book on Big Strategy. Carlistle, PA: DIANE Publishing. Read More