Regarding my previous post and the very useful comments, first the matter of what do we do once we realize that a policy problem in search of a policy solution is the equivalent of a social scientific puzzle in search of an explanation, for both the solution and the...
Check out this wonderfully exhaustive application of bureaucratic politics to Star Wars. The basic argument is that it was not the rebellion that really doomed the Empire but inter-service...
All wars end. Or do they?Rather too often, we are being reminded that the 'war on terror' against the Al Qaeda terrorist network is far from over, in fact that it will never end and even, that it...
Writing in Foreign Policy, Paul Pillar makes the case that most so-called "intelligence failures" stem from bad leadership rather than problems with the US intelligence community. He touches upon a...
There are many reasons why organizations (government, businesses, etc) grow dysfunctional and stagnant. Â One major reason lies with the promotion and retention of less capable workers. Â There have been a number of studies that explored this dynamic (for example, The Peter Principle, which theorizes that people are promoted as long as they are competent, which means at some point they reach a position of incompetence). Â In general, though, the promotion and retention of incompetent workers would seem to run counter to the rational interests of the larger organization. Â So why does this...
Certainly not a winning week for the Air Force. Already reeling from the high-profile dismissal of both its uniformed and civilian leader, the USAF was slammed again in two major stories this week.First, the GAO slammed the Air Force's procurement procedures with a stinging rebuke of its decision to award its major tanker contract to the Northrup-Grumman. The USAF has been looking to upgrade its tanker fleet for years but the entire process has been clouded by scandal. There was the ill-fated sweetheart lease deal for Boeing. There was the criminal interference by senior Boeing leaders and a...
Putin has named his new cabinet. Despite heated speculation in the media, the changes are fairly small. Almost all the ministers kept their jobs. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin kept his post, but has also been elevated to deputy prime minister. Minister of Economic Development and Trade Germain Gref is out, replaced by his former deputy Elvira Nabiullina. Gref's departure was widely expected, so no big surprises there. Dmitri Kozak, former envoy to the South Federal District (southern Russia and the Caucasus), has been appointed minister of regional development. Lastly, Deputy Finance...
The Senate held hearings the other day to confirm Lt. General Douglas Lute to be President Bush's "War Czar"-- a special assistant to the President directly overseeing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.* Remember, this is the job that 3 or 4 (to our knowledge) retired Generals turned down. Lute, on active duty in the Army, could hardly say no.I wonder-- how on earth is he going to be able to do anything in this job? In the report on his confirmation hearing, Lute offered a "dour assessment" of Iraq:President Bush's nominee to be war czar said yesterday that conditions in Iraq have not improved...
Yesterday I wondered what was going on with the reports that Negroponte was leaving the DNI post to take over as Deputy SecState. Well, I awoke to NPR reporting that this is part of a much larger reshuffling of Bush's Iraq team--and yes, you really do need a program to keep up with who is going where.Negroponte out at DNI, in as Deputy SecState, to handle Iraq issuesMike McConnell to be nominated to be DNIKhalilzad out as Ambassador to Iraq, in as UN AmbassadorRyan Crocker to be nominated as new Ambassador to IraqGen. Casey out as commander of troops in IraqGen. David Petraeus in as...
Reports out today indicate that John Negroponte is planning to leave his job as Director of National Intelligence to become Deputy Secretary of State.This is a very curious move, one that leaves me scratching my head just a bit. The move is clearly a step down. Negroponte will be leaving a newly created, cabinet-level, highly powerful, high-profile position that is central to the GWOT to be come a Deputy, the number two person in State which, of late, has suffered and chaffed behind DoD and the Intel community under the Bush Administration.On the one hand, maybe its a smart move. Negroponte...
The Washington Post reports today on the recent NATO-Russia joint communique, which among other points stated that "issues of security and stability in Central Asia, including the recent tragic events in Uzbekistan, was also discussed." According to the Post, this rather bland language papered over an intra-agency dispute within the US government about how best to handle the situation stemming from the 13 May crackdown against a failed uprising in the city of Andijon. The crackdown, which Human Rights Watch has labeled a "massacre," involved the deployment of armed troops to respond to an...