Killing the Islamic State Softly

Soft power in that region will not work unless and until we have pretty much annihilated the radicals in that region. That is not just the ones on the battlefield. The ones that are just as dangerous, perhaps more are the imams in the mosques that teach the jihadi brand of islam, radicalize the youth and prepare the next generation. Until you squelch those voices you will never change or win hearts and minds. We do not have the will to do that work, period. No one will send troops in to arrest/detain radical imams.

This sounds like more hearts and minds stuff that I am not sure we have a really good example of that working. I do know that destroying the enemy and stripping it's leadership of any/all power and authority will work. We have plenty of examples of that working. We have to remember, this is a theocracy. The leadership of their movement (politically and religiously) are religious leaders. They must be dealt with. The PC approach to not "defiling" the mosques works to their advantage and they know how to manipulate the west and it's PC approach to war.

This entire paper is more of the same. Spend lot's more money, use the UN and other agencies and international alliances, rebuild their entire country (at the expense of the US Taxpayer), create a jobs program and viola, problem solved. This is think tank BS that ends up getting us into longer, more protracted engagements overseas.

"There’s a growing consensus on the outlines of this military campaign, though admittedly, it won’t be easy to execute. What is far more difficult to outline is what tools and strategies will comprise the long game against the Islamic State.

In their seminal 2007 report, Professor Joseph Nye and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage correctly pointed out that to solve the biggest problems we need a mix of hard and soft power — which they termed “smart power.” Of note, that commission included members like former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; Sen. Jack Reed, now the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Rep. Mac Thornberry, now the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; and Marine Gen. Tony Zinni, a former Centcom commander. The most important line in that report is simple: “Soft power is the ability to attract people to our side without coercion.” That is the contest we are currently losing, and bombs and troops can’t comprehensively defeat the Islamic State without it.

The interesting question is this: What would a smart power campaign directed against the challenges represented by the Islamic State (which are of course broader than just that group) look like? What are the techniques; levels of resources; and strategies of cooperation, collaboration, and communication?

This is of course a big, complicated campaign, but if we are going to have a hard power campaign, what does the soft power side look like? I laid out some of this several years ago in a TED talk, but much has changed since then. As a starting point for today’s challenges, here are four suggestions on the soft power side of the equation:

1. Recognize that the cost will be high. At one point during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States was spending close to $1 billion dollars per day. A soft power campaign against the Islamic State will not be as expensive, but it will be costly. Job creation, education, medical diplomacy, and infrastructure redevelopment could run up to $200 billion annually. But shared among a global coalition of 60-plus nations, it’s not an unmanageable cost. In addition to the hard power contingent of about 15,000 troops, we should be thinking about a surge of at least 5,000 more humanitarian workers from places like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including refugee camp organizers, humanitarian logisticians, medical personnel, and educators.

2. Seek a collective, truly international strategy for the region. Under the aegis of a big international organization like the United Nations or the International Committee of the Red Cross, convene the international soft power community. This would include national organizations like USAID, the British Department for International Development, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency; the largest international humanitarian organizations (Doctors Without Borders, Feed the Children, Red Cross/Red Crescent); and other international nongovernmental entities (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and regional agencies). This should be convened early in 2016 to produce a roadmap, donor pledges, and an accountable steering committee."

More at the link.

Walt