Domestic Crime: Posse Comitatus

We all know of military and federal agency's deploying for National Interest. The question is who else should be involved and possibly look at structural reform? Here are a couple of thoughts- the Court Systems, Department of Education, Health Systems... Cooperation between all federal organizations will be instrumental in handling Steady-States to prevent future conflict from arising. List your thoughts here.



As military members you promise to protect the country against all enemies foreign and domestic. With conflict arising in Mexico and boarder towns, how involved should the military get? Posse Comitatus only allows military to supply platforms, training, surveillance and cooperation, but prohibits military involvement with and in close proximity to its citizens. The old idea was put the Guard on the boarder to prevent illegal activity such as trafficking and illegal immigration. What are contemporary thoughts on how to police the boarder and stop domestic threats from arising? Although Posse Comitatus is part of a check and balance system, does it need to be revised/update to meet the changing nature of war?

IW:Who Should Get Involved

We all know of military and federal agency's deploying for National Interest. The question is who else should be involved and possibly look at structural reform? Here are a couple of thoughts- the Court Systems, Department of Education, Health Systems... Cooperation between all federal organizations will be instrumental in handling Steady-States to prevent future conflict from arising. List your thoughts here.

Rapid Modernization: From Imposing to Influencing

In today's western culture, media saturation and technological advance have become almost ameba like in the way that they seems to reproduce autonomously. In truth, the modernization of western society seems so perpetual and effortless that we forget about the perplexity of our economic and socio-political structures that drive the advance. Furthermore, we naively think that by throwing money at poverty or giving modern resources to underdeveloped countries that they can "catch-up," when in fact the education level and unfamiliarity with modernization negates the utility of the resources that we give.

Sorry for the digression, anyway how can the Department of State, NGOs and the DOD share the responsibility for training modern security forces adequately? Who, if anyone should shoulder the brunt of the task, and what role should each entity play? Should there be a synergistic approach i.e. sending small teams of diverse representation e.g. economist, state reps with cultural expertise, medical teams, military leadership etc.? The how do we gain proper feedback; what are principal signs of progression? Is the military's role as an extension of diplomacy becoming more significant?

In today's nature of warfare is it more effective to influence or impose?

World Cultures 101: Cultural Training in the U.S. Military

Before the War in Afghanistan, how many people could point it out on a map? We have cultural training in place in the military, but it is tailored to our current theater. What untapped resources exist and what kind of programs can be implemented to take a proactive approach? Wouldn't it be nice if all military members trained as subject matter experts of not just a vast region, but a specific country? Moreover, wouldn't the aforementioned concept then be augmented through Wargaming when each Subject Matter Expert of particular countries come together to trouble shoot their collected region? How would this training take place, who would run it and most importantly what are the pros and cons? Let me know what you think?

Getting Messy: Planning, Regulations and Policies

What weaknesses are there in the military planning process? What regulations prohibit or restrict the exploration of avenues used to defeat irregular threats? Lastly, what policy changes need to occur to allow better cooperation between civilian agencies and DOD? Isn't a military branch's job, although implicit, to promote diplomacy?

Gangs

Are gangs just a physical manifestation of a deeper rooted problem? According to the National Gang Intelligence Center, gang proliferation is on the rise. So, is there a direct corollary between gang levels and the conditions of the surrounding environment? If that is the case, then what are some of the major differences in U.S. domestic gangs and international gangs? How does a Gang achieve legitimacy?

Additionally, we all know that significant gang presence in a country weakens that country's stability. Is our military heading in a direction to effectively engage international gangs head-on or simply dumping it on the laps of civilian authorities? If political corruption is taking place and gangs are growing, what use is building up a faulty government infrastructure?

Lastly, what other types of international involvement other than humanitarian aid do you foresee the military becoming involved in when we are in our next period of peacetime? Is preventing the proliferation of gangs plausible?

http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs32/32146/gangs.htm

From Insurgents to Pirates:Maritime Security Sector Reform

The Marine Corps has been at war for almost a decade focusing on an asymmetrical ground war. However, the war will slowly, but surely dissipate, and we as a Corps will have to accommodate changes in our approach to warfare. With MSSR on the table, I firmly believe we will not just return to our amphibious routes, but we will revise them to fit our modern day fight i.e. pirating, illegal fishing, and drug interdiction? Does the Marine Corps need to revisit amphibious doctrine to better combat these emerging threats? What unforeseen, asymmetrical threats do you see arising?

allafrica.com/stories/200805010790.html

Winning a War from a Computer?

As technology progresses at an exponential rate the threat of cyber warfare becomes more relevant ergo governments that have a greater dependency on technology are more susceptible to cyber sabotage/terrorism e.g. Estonia. Check this out.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/technology/29estonia.html

Identifying The Problem

Decision making begins with identifying the problem. This statement might sound trivial, but how many times do we as decision makers confuse the symptoms as the problem? Our thought process has to be as deliberate as an antibiotic and not only cure part of the problem like an over the counter drug? How can we advance Professional Military Education to better problem identification skills? In irregular warfare scenarios, what appears to be the problem is actually only a fraction of the problem. Let me know what you think.

Trafficking

When people hear the term "Trafficking" they automatically conjure up thoughts of drugs; however, although it includes narcotics it is not limited to narcotics. In fact, many things are trafficked including: Humans, Weapons, Money and Drugs. This may be obvious to most of you, so how does this apply to Irregular Warfare?

A country's conditions i.e. their poverty level, infrastructure, and even their rate of literacy can leave it more susceptible to political corruption, which just makes the problem worse.

So, as the military what is the next step that we have to take to achieve full collaboration with the Department of State so that we can simultaneously and somewhat paradoxically prepare for war while preventing it?

Thoughts Wanted: