Yesterday, Congress heard testimony from James Locher III – the head of the Project on National Security Reform and the organisational genius behind the 1986 Goldwater-Nichol defence reforms that put the “joint” into the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later the Cohen-Nunn Amendment, which created the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Bringing together an impressive array of experts from inside government and from both parties, PNSR is trying nothing less than to redesign the U.S national security system.
Speaking with Joseph Nye (Mr. Soft Power), and Richard Armitage, Colin Powell’s muscle-clad former deputy, Locher laid out the case for reform:
Since the beginning of the 21st Century, the United States has suffered a number of painful setbacks: the terrorist attacks of September 11, troubled stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina.
These setbacks are not coincidental; they are evidence of a system failure. Our national security system is not capable of handling the threats and challenges or exploiting the opportunities that confront us in today’s complex, fast-paced, information-age world.
These deficiencies are not about the lack of talent or commitment by our national security professionals in all departments and agencies. They are working incredibly hard and with unsurpassed dedication. In many cases, they are being crushed by their workload. The problem is that much of their hard work is wasted by a dysfunctional system.
What to do about it? The U.S needs “a 21st Century government for 21st Century challenges.” In Locher’s mind that means three sets of reforms. First, new presidential directives governing the operation of the national security system will be required. The second, a new national security act, replacing many provisions of the 1947 Act. And third, amendments to Senate and House rules to bring about necessary congressional reforms and the creation of Select Committees on Interagency Affairs in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Look out for Locher’s interim report produced on July 1 and his final report on September 1, as required in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008.
