The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2013 33 Thomas E. McNamara, a retired career Foreign Service officer, served as assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, ambassa- dor to Colombia, ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, and on the NSC staffs of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, among other senior assignments. This article is adapted from his May 23 ad- dress to the Foreign Affairs Retirees Association of Northern Virginia. It is time to educate the American people about national security fundamentals, so we can conduct a meaningful reassessment of our current strategy. BY THOMAS E . MCNAMARA REBALANCING NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY AFTER AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ O ver the past 500 years, every major war has ended with the com- batant powers reas- sessing their interests, relationships and power, then crafting new strategies to guide policy in the postwar world. Not all these reassessments, how- ever, produce coherent, consistent strategies. Since 1898 the United States has fought five major con- flicts, and emerged from two of them with viable strategies: the Spanish-American War and World War II. After two oth- ers—World War I and the Cold War—we failed to produce viable strategies. The fifth conflict, which I call the Post-9/11 Wars, is ending now, and we face the challenge of another assessment. Unfortunately, we seem ill-prepared for the challenge. One example symbolizes the shortsightedness that hobbles our current politics and thinking. In February 2011 the House FOCUS RISK MANAGEMENT FOR THE EXPEDITIONARY DIPLOMAT Appropriations Committee decided that only Defense, Vet- eran Affairs and Homeland Security constituted “the national security budget,” where it would allow no cuts. It then cut the budgets of the foreign affairs agencies. This decision prevails in the House today. Such choices prove the wisdom of that great strategic