New Polity

The year 2012 has brought with it changes for the direction of national security policy in the United States. With the war in Iraq over, and a scheduled complete withdrawal of NATO forces in Afghanistan by 2014 our nation has already begun to usher into new age. The reputation of the US military around the world has been tarnished by the occupation of Iraq and disastrous events in Afghanistan, such as Staff Sergeant Robert Bales’s abhorrent mad killing spree. Most citizens of the Middle East and Southwestern Asia cringe at the mere thought of US intervention. Furthermore with looming cuts to our defense expenditures, President Obama and his advisers will be forced to rethink the mission of US defense and intelligence assets around the world.

Since the beginning of his term in 2008, President Obama has begun to show signs of this shift in doctrine. A recent example of this shift has been the reconstruction of the 1970s amphibious assault ship USS Ponce; which will serve as a mobile base of US special operators according to a Washington Post report[1].

However, chief among this shift is the four-fold increase in drone strikes around the world; most notably in Pakistan, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa. First appearing on the scene in 1998, the Clinton administration saw this as an innovative approach to targeting Osama bin Laden[2]. In the 14 years since then, they have become the hallmark of counter-terror operations around the world. In Pakistan alone, President Obama has authorized 252 strikes compared to 95 authorized during Bush’s second term[3]. Although there has been some blowback from civilian casualties, especially in Pakistan, this tactic has proved detrimental for al-Qaeda. Their terror network is on its heel to say the least, and now have diminutive operation capabilities under the watchful eyes in the sky.

Faced with looming cuts to defense expenditures, military brass and intelligence officials have also focused their resources towards JSOCOM: United States Joint Special Operations Command. With potential draw downs of soldiers, sailors, and marines, the Obama’s National Security team has utilized these small, agile special operators to conduct counter-terror missions around the world: from Afghanistan, to Somalia, to the Philippines. Since the beginning of his Presidency, Mr. Obama has increased his use of special operations raids from 675 in 2009 to 1,879 through August 2011[4]. In a new age where U.S presence on the ground is looked down upon, these covert raids, largely conducted at night, provide the U.S and its allies with an efficient mode of operation without the negative public attention.

Politicians, be it Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan or even the president of Columbia Juan Santos, want their countries to be rid of terror cells and drug cartels, yet they don’t want the public blowback that’s associated with foreign occupiers. These efficient operational capabilities are the answer to those problems. This new doctrine has already begun to redefine the mission of US defense and intelligence assets around the world.