USIPeace Briefing

Civilians Can Win the Peace

By Patricia Thomson and Daniel Serwer
February 2007

Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sparked a maelstrom in Washington recently when they told President Bush and Defense Secretary Gates that the administration’s planned troop surge in Iraq may fail if it does not receive sufficient civilian support.

The military role in Iraq will always be limited in what it can achieve, they said. No matter how well funded or well trained our troops may be, they alone cannot stabilize Iraq because many of the needed political, economic, legal, and other nation-building skills are not part of the military toolkit.

There are serious questions about whether the civilian side of our national security structure is up to the task. At a minimum, we propose that four things be done to help ensure we have the civilian capacity we need:

• Ensure effective interagency coordination. At least twelve U.S. government agencies now deploy staff on nation-building missions. The State Department is supposed to be in the lead, but it lacks the staff required as well as clear authority and budgetary control over the nation-building activities of the other involved agencies. Within each agency, the nation-building mission needs to be clarified, funded, and staffed to allow for training and overseas deployments. The many congressional committees that oversee these various agencies need to start coordinating as well.
• Develop doctrine and tools to support nation building. "Peacefare" should be as well developed as warfare. Both the military and civilians involved in nation-building need to promote shared objectives: a safe and secure environment, the rule of law, democratic governance, a sustainable economy, and social well-being. In addition, civilians need to develop strategies, doctrines, and toolkits based on proven practices and the know-how of experienced professionals. These should be available to all the civilian organizations involved in this work, including government agencies, international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Millions of dollars are invested in crafting and perfecting military doctrine. We need a comparable investment on the civilian side. As General John Abizaid said, "The 21st century really requires that we figure out how to get economic, diplomatic, political, and military elements of power synchronized and coordinated against specific problems wherever they exist."
• Establish a joint training academy. The United States also lacks a national training program where policymakers and practitioners can develop the knowledge and skills needed for nation-building. Such an academy should train not just military and government officials, but also students from multilateral organizations, NGOs, and universities. Joint training of this nature will increase America’s nation-building capacity and that of our counterparts abroad. It will also ensure that future generations have the skills they need to build long-term peace.
• Create a civilian reserve. Finally, we must develop a pool of experienced professionals who can deploy to support and train foreign government officials, the private sector, and civil society (e.g., mayors, judges, bankers, and other essential civilian personnel) in fragile and war-torn societies. The rudiments of such a civilian cadre already exist. The Treasury Department has a famously effective group of "treasury advisors" who help countries establish central banks, new currencies, and appropriate economic policies. The Justice Department has a substantial capability to deploy law enforcement officials abroad. More of these programs are needed, and they must work in an integrated fashion.

Can we afford all of this? We have already spent more than $400 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan. The annual Pentagon budget, not including Iraq and Afghanistan, is $425 billion. A fraction of these resources would fund the above efforts. Such an investment will help prevent conflicts in the first place—and when fighting is necessary, it will help ensure that America never sends its sons and daughters to war without having the capacity to win the peace.