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The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America's Power and Purpose
 | The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America's Power and Purpose General Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz Date: 30 March, 2006 — $16.47 — Book Rating: |
I thought General Zinni's last book, "Battle Ready" was an insightful view of the world outside the US from someone who's been there. This book, unfortunately, is pretty much a re-hash with one new Big Idea. Don't get me wrong, I think Gen. Zinni is right on the money, mostly, but I've heard all this before, and who doesn't have a Big Idea?
Gen. Zinni continues his central theme from the first book that the US must remain engaged in the world. He also adds a very good definition of state instability and why it matters to us as well as some insights from his work as an international negotiator and the work he's done with NGOs both in and out of the military. That's all good stuff, though much of it was covered in his previous book. Then there's his Big Idea.
Gen. Zinni believes our government agencies are "stovepiped". That is, the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Department, and other major organs of government share information up and down their own chains of command, but have problems sharing information and resources between agencies on military ventures as well as diplomatic missions. Duh. Anyone familiar with the 9/11 Commission Report is aware of the problem. The solution, Zinni says, is to integrate the different departments right down to the street level. Gen. Zinni acknowledges that reshaping multiple massive government bureaucracies is a daunting task; unfortunately, implementing this obvious solution would require serious leadership on a scale that President Bush has so far failed to display.
So, I'm with Gen. Zinni on the warmed over theme that America must stay engaged in the world -- and I even agree that close cooperation between the State Department and the Defense Department would be beneficial for furthering an American agenda -- but unless President Bush decides to show some courageous leadership in the face of bureaucratic emperors, integrating cabinet-level departments isn't going to happen.