Don’t Wait for the Next War: Rethinking America’s Global Mission by Wes Clark

Can America have a real national strategy and move forward together without the focus of war? In the twentieth century, America came together to become the "Arsenal of Democracy," and emerged from World War II as the greatest power in the world. We shaped a global civilization in our own values, first with international institutions and our allies, then triumphing over our long-term adversary, the Soviet Union to emerge as the world's lone superpower. But in losing our adversary, America's leadership has founded. We have not replaced our post-World War II strategic vision with something appropriate for a postwar role. In Syria, and more broadly across the Middle East, bellicosity has not served us well and we look adrift in the face of that region’s turbulence. Guns and swords don’t seem to help.

America’s new challenges, global in scope, not amenable to military solutions, require intricate interdependence between government and the private sector. Terrorism, cybersecurity, financial system vulnerabilities, the rise of China, and accelerating climate change constitute a new class of national security challenges—and meeting these will require America to revisit hallowed mythologies and concert domestic and foreign policies in a way which has never before been achieved. All the resources are at hand, but will we have the vision and will to lead? Based on his experience at the highest levels in the military, politics and business, Wesley Clark offers a way forward, if only the American people will demand it of their elected leaders.

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