Col. Joseph J. Collins, Professor, National War College
Biography provided by participant
Joseph J. Collins is currently a professor of strategy at the National War College in Washington, D.C. From 2001 to 2004, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations and very active in plans and policy for the war Afghanistan, as well as in the initial planning for Operation Iraqi Freedom. A retired Army Colonel, he is a veteran of over a decade's service in the Pentagon, and has taught at West Point, Georgetown, and Columbia universities.
The intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute has often caused my eyes to glaze over, especially when the pundits speak of near-term peace in the Middle East. It is the Ground Hog Day, deja vu-all-over-again issue of international politics. At the same time, it is a tremendously important issue, one that will affect so many other issues in the region. Solve the Israel-Palestinian problem, and it will help you with many other issues, even if they won't disappear overnight. It is also a key issue in domestic politics as democrats and republicans vie with one another to show how pro-Israel their policy was/is/will… Read more
The global economic crisis could have drastic effects abroad and at home. A number of failing states could be pushed over the edge. Other states , like China, whose social compact revolves around stability and political order being a reward for rapid economic growth may suffer grave instability. Unelected or otherwise illegitimate leaders everywhere are in jeopardy. All of this suggests the importance of ending this crisis ASAP, first in the USA and then abroad. Sadly, our efforts to end the crisis have not been all that they might have been. We have passed a massive stimulus bill, much of which is not stimulative,… Read more
Michael Scheur's response confuses key tasks with end states. I said we want a decent country in control of itself and able to deal with AQAM, and the Taliban and its associated movements. Of course, we have strike a devastating blow against the enemy, if no other purpose than to be able to transition from us securing Afghanistan to them doing it for themselves. And as far as the definition of "decent," I am wise enough to leave room for Afghan culture(s) and Islam. I don't insist on Western democracy, but without a decent and legitimate government, A'stan will remain… Read more
A victory in Afghanistan is easy to define, even if a bit gray. In Afghanistan, we seek a decent country with a representative government, and a decent legal economy. Victory means an Afghanistan that essentially controls its own territory, and thus, is able to control Taliban and Al Qaeda encroachments on its sovereignty. It is vitally important for the United States to pursue this goal because of the need to block an Al Qaeda sanctuary --- one far more rewarding to them than their tenuous one in Pakistan --- and to carry out our commitment of blood and treasure made in 2001. As Sec.… Read more
It is difficult to successfully analyze things that happen, but impossible with any certainty to analyze things that did not take place. That said, the demands of reality often causes us to go beyond the strictures of social science methodology and enter the field of creative speculation, which is what all answers to this week's topic are. If pushed to speculate, I would treat all of these explanations as plausible hypothesis to explain why we have not had a terrorist attack on our soil: Better homeland security; increased domestic intelligence gathering; better coalition intelligence and information sharing; and great police… Read more
Unleashed? Did George W. Bush have him on a leash. I don't think so. The most important thing that Gates can do is to prepare the Department for deep cuts and major changes in how it must do business. For example, we need to stress --- as we did in the Nixon doctrine --- the role of advisors and trainers over the role of US expeditionary forces. On the hardware and manpower end, Gates should direct the Services to prepare evaluations of their own modernization efforts and decrement lists at the 5 through 25 %-cut levels over the next 5 years. He… Read more
Allies are always both boon and burden, whether you are a great power looking at your friends, or vice versa. Israel is a staunch ally, but they come at a very high cost, one which we have written off for decades. For general defense issues, counterterrorism, and intelligence matters, the Israelis are hard to beat. But they are staunch allies not because of some cosmic cost - benefit analysis. Our connections are complex and very deep. The ties are political, economic, cultural, and historical. Only our ties with the English speaking countries and some countries in Europe are as dense as our ties to Israel.… Read more
The President-elect's greatest challenge will be the economy. While he will likely have enough money to do the right thing in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next few years, the scarcity of revenue and the explosion in new government spending will put tremendous pressure on the defense department, especially in the field of procurement. While thinning or delaying programs will be an initial response, cutting those in development will become a key part of defense policy in the years ahead. Major systems in development are today all in jeopardy. Major systems in development that have a flawed or checkered development… Read more
Biography provided by participant
