Update on Department of State and Department of Defense Coordination of Reconstruction and Stabilization Assistance

摘要

The establishment of the State Department Office for Reconstruction and Stabilization, partnered with the issuance of the DOD directive and the guidance provided by the presidential directive, provides an opportunity for the United States to plan ahead and coordinate future responses to emergencies in failed states requiring some level of U.S. involvement in reconstruction and stabilization operations. The designation of the DOS as lead in this area, but with the requirement for coordination with the DOD when the U.S. military is involved, provides an opportunity for fruitful cooperation within the U.S. government that should lead to much more efficient and effective future U.S. responses to international crises. In particular, the new DOD policy that stability operations are a core responsibility provides the opportunity to view such problems in a new perspective. Hopefully, these new efforts will help avoid some of the pitfalls that the United States has encountered in previous efforts to address such issues in countries such as Bosnia, Afghanistan and, of course, Iraq.