Intervention, Stabilization, and Transformation Operations: The Role of Landpower in the New Strategic Environment; Journal article

摘要

A historic shift has taken place in the strategic environment as globalization and interconnectedness propel the concept of security in new directions. Sovereignty is no longer sacrosanct. Now what takes place within states is of intense concern to the world. This shatters long-standing patterns in which even horrific internal conflicts were usually contained. Today, interconnectedness between states, their permeability, globalization of economies, transparency arising from information technology, and the intermixing of people give every conflict regional and global repercussions. Internal conflicts create refugee flows which destabilize neighboring states. They often spawn organized crime as rebels turn to smuggling to raise capital and acquire weaponry. As images of internal war are broadcast or emailed around the world, awareness rises and demands for action or intervention. What this means is that internal conflict or intense repression is now the concern of the world community. American strategy is still adjusting to this new reality. After 11 September 2001, the United States recognized that internal conflicts and the persistence of radical regimes which waged proxy conflict via terrorism were simply too dangerous to ignore. In this new strategic environment, instability and indirect aggression must be ameliorated, not simply contained. If the root cause of instability or proxy aggression is not addressed, the thinking goes, the problem will eventually reemerge. Aggression flowing from internal instability thus demands the actual transformation of an unstable or aggressive state into one which is both stable and willing to adhere to the norms of the international community. This is a revolutionary idea. In the new strategic environment, the primary function of the American military is what might be called Intervention, Stabilization, and Transformation (IST) operations. The next step in the evolution of US military strategy is to refine and develop this idea.