The Pentagon's New Map

The Pentagon's New Map Thomas P. M. Barnett Date: 22 April, 2004   —   $17.79   —   Book product page Rating:

This is an excellent, excellent book. It's an American strategy for the 21st century; a roadmap to a world without terrorism. This book really crystallized a lot of things about our war on terror, globalization, and America's part in the future of the world. I blogged my initial impression of the book earlier, and nothing since has changed my mind that this is definitely the way to go.

To recap, Barnett separates the world into the Core - the group of countries, including the United States, Europe, and Japan, where the rule of law is conscientiously observed because our collective prosperity depends upon it - and the Gap - the set of countries, including North Korea, Iran, and Columbia, that are disconnected from the global economy and do not follow the rules.

What Barnett has done is map out a global security plan based on the fact that globalization has proven to be a growing force for prosperity and peace in the world. Wherever globalization takes root, liberty and prosperity (along with inevitable social change) springs forth. This is what Friedman is talking about when he notes there has never been a war between two countries with McDonald's restaurants - the global direct investment necessary for transforming an impoverished nation into a thriving economy avoids countries where security, financial, and intellectual property rules are weak.

So Barnett looks at security in light of the globalization phenomena and finds that all the trouble spots in the world, "the Gap", are places where globalization has failed to take hold. These are countries that are in the midst of civil wars, or are ruled by authoritarian governments that are consciously trying to withdraw from the global economy. These are the failed and repressed states which harbor and breed terrorism.

Barnett's plan involves getting the Core nations to view the world from this point of view, and rally behind the US in order to shrink the Gap. One way to shrink the Gap is the militarily aggressive, neo-conservative "who's next?" strategy that the Bush administration has embarked upon. Barnett believes this approach will fail because it marginalizes our allies - it weakens the Core - and creates distrust of American intentions in the Gap, "None of this can be imposed, only offered. Globalization does not come with a ruler, but with rules." The main thrust should be diplomatic and financial, not military.

But sometimes nations can not or will not integrate. In these cases, Barnett advocates creating accepted (by the Core) ground rules on how to forcefully integrate a rogue nation. To handle security operations in the Gap, Barnett envisions a bifurcated military. One part of the military focuses on fighting and deterring the big wars, while the other part focuses on rebuilding failed nations and pitching in on homeland security. This is where John Kerry's plan to double our Special Operations forces, recruit more regular troops - including more civil administrators and MPs - and use the National Guard and Reserves mainly in a homeland defense role really makes sense.

It's interesting to note that Barnett has become increasingly critical of President Bush's handling of Iraq and Afghanistan, which should have been shining examples of US commitment to bringing these nations into the global economy. Bush's abandonment of Afghanistan for Iraq has created an outlaw state where the government only controls the area around Kabul and fully half of the country's economy revolves around the poppy trade. And Iraq, almost two years later, still lacks the basic security necessary for reconstruction of infrastructure or even oil production.

For me, this book provided something that has been missing from Bush's discussion of the war on terror: the end-game. Barnett envisions a goal in the war on terror beyond just killing Muslims. He sees a future that is not only achievable, but that it is imperative to achieve; a future where every nation is connected, prosperous, and free.

For more info, visit Barnett's blog.