From Mission Creep to Smart Power

<p>The size of the Defense Department both in terms of financial resources and personnel resources dwarfs the State Department. This unevenness has caused the Defense Department to pick up new missions that traditionally belong to the State Department. The negative consequences go beyond simply high operational tempo. There are also the international perceptions of U.S. military in uniform performing diplomatic functions.American servicemen and women can be trained to accomplish any task but they will never take off their uniform. The camouflage on the uniform will always evoke sentiments of defense security and force when needed. When security is assured and the mission shifts to development training and diplomacy the U.S. urgently needs a robust State Department fully able to seamlessly step in where the military left off. Currently this capability does not fully exist. This paper examines where resources and missions can be shifted. Where changes make sense one next has to look at the likelihood that proposals will be politically practically and economically viable. The second half of the paper examines both the inside and outside players that have influence impacting these proposals and departments. This paper used all available resources that were available as of December 2010.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>