I'm watching with increasing discomfort as the Biden administration fumbles its way through foreign and military policy as if there's no plan. What is their analysis? What is the intended end state?
Those experienced with leadership know the old adage that "a failure to plan is a plan to fail." There will always be times when leaders have to adapt, pivot to new opportunities, or seize momentum. But whenever possible, a leader must have a plan.
In the private sector, a new business should have a full SWOT analysis, examining the strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and threats of each business case.
When an attorney goes to court he needs a litigation plan with a desired end state, which comes from researching a position under the law before ever appearing before the judge.
Every young Army officer is taught to write and disseminate a five-paragraph Operations Order clearly outlining the mission, the enemy situation, and the commander's intent. This plan should specify subunit tasks, command and signal, and key timelines.
True planning provides an orderly and cogent means of helping guide a leader's thoughts with the ultimate purpose clearly in mind. In the absence of a plan missions can go awry.
Yet what we are watching with U.S. involvement in the Ukraine war is a form of international hopscotch that comes from having no coherent strategy.
President Joe Biden visited Ukraine and Poland this past week. In a very tired and dispirited manner he spoke to NATO leaders, saying that the U.S. is "in it for as long as it takes." With his face sitting on folded hands he quietly urged other members of NATO to "do their part" to stop the Russians. Back at home, we can't see the end state.
To be clear, almost no one in the West wants Russia to win. Sovereign nations should not be allowed to just hop across a border and seize land at a whim.
But what does "for as long as it takes" really mean? Billions of U.S. tax dollars have been committed, but we don't know what the outcome is supposed to look like. Is there a true strategy? Is there a milestone, or better yet, a series of milestones? Who's in charge? One wonders if the Secretary of State is negotiating anything or just playing catch-up. Has NATO received any additional instructions?
We've had the Monroe Doctrine, the Bush Doctrine, and the clearly defined Reagan foreign policy of "peace through strength." There was the Trump philosophy of "America First." But can anyone articulate a foreign policy position, strategy, or doctrine to which the Biden administration can attach its name—a "Biden Plan" or Biden philosophy? If so, what is it?
Not since the Marshall Plan in the wake of WWII have we poured as much into Europe as we are now. But unlike the current state of Biden-led aid to Ukraine, the Marshall Plan had a name, a defined set of terms, and announced goals for all the world to see and believe in.
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. initiative beginning in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Europe in the wake of WWII. Billions in U.S. dollars were committed with a stated intent to rebuild Europe over a four-year period. Its goals were clearly defined, and Marshall Plan aid was divided among recipients on a per capita basis. The plan was forward-thinking, had a price tag, milestones, and an end state that the whole world could see. It had bipartisan support in Washington. Better yet, the American people knew why they were being asked to support it.
The Marshall Plan was unique in that American leaders trusted their constituencies enough to lay out the cause, the concern, the plan, and the price, and the American people rallied behind it. There was no loosey-goosey speech filled with platitudes about staying "for as long as it takes."
Speaking of the Marshall Plan, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the former general for whom it was named, said:
“It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health to the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. … Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.”
The war in Ukraine is one of the defining stories of this decade. But the American people deserve a plan. Stop telling us that we need to write more checks and clearly tell us what we will achieve! Tell us how it impacts us if we do or if we don't!
Is there a Biden doctrine? Is there a Biden plan? The fact that I'm having to ask those questions speaks volumes.
To contact Phil or request him for a speaking engagement, go to www.rightsideradio.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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