http://www.nwc.navy.mil/pao/Latest%20News/CSFarticle2006.htm

Navy’s top leaders gather to discuss strategy in the twenty-first century
By Ryan Gallucci
Naval War College Public Affairs Office

Newport, R.I., - On Tuesday, June 13 the 57th annual Current Strategy Forum convened at the Naval War College. The forum brought together senior military leaders, academics and national policy makers in an open forum on American military strategy in the post Cold War era.

“Today’s uncertainty and today’s threats are of an entirely unique sort caused and perpetuated by new challenges,” said Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Michael Mullen in his address to the forum. “Challenges brought on, quite frankly, by the collapse of (the Berlin) wall and the unstoppable, unrelenting pace of globalization.”

Both Mullen and the Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter addressed the forum over the two-day conference.

“Our experience in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom leads us to conclude that expeditionary warfare is changing in important ways,” said Secretary Winter. “It is no longer enough to storm a beach, rebuild an airport and then leave.”

The new demands that face the military in the era of transnational terrorism and economic growth in India and China were the major topics of discussion among military and civilian participants in the conference.

Adm. Mullen called for a new maritime strategy that reflects the newfound stresses of the global world economy. He said that the United States must look to its allies to ensure safety and security in global sea lanes. Mullen calls this international security vision “the 1,000 ship Navy.”

“We must unite all freedom-loving nations to defeat a diverse array of fourth-generation threats,” Mullen said. “Everywhere I go, heads of navies I speak with are excited about the concept of bringing together a Fleet comprised of ships and capabilities from many law abiding nations, standing watch over the seas—standing watch with each other.”

The panels of the forum elaborated on the comments of Winter and Mullen, and sought to define how America should project its power in the 21st Century.

All of the panelists agreed that the United States would continue to be the most powerful global state through the next century, but they disagreed on how the United States should respond to Chinese economic growth and the role that the U.S. mission in Iraq would play.

“I believe the United States will lose in Iraq,” said Dr. John Mearsheimer, a professor from the University of Chicago. “However, what happens in Iraq is largely irrelevant to the U.S. power position.”

Mearsheimer is co- author of a recent controversial paper on the influence of the Israeli lobby in global politics.

He said that Iraq has a greater resolve to fight off American forces; but, much like Vietnam, a loss in this particular conflict will not affect the ability to win the fight against radical Islamists.

“Power does not necessarily mean victory,” he said. “Material capabilities are what determine a state’s power.”

This is why Mearsheimer believes that China should be of strategic concern to the United States in the next century. However, this does not mean that China must be a strategic enemy.

“China is not the Soviet Union,” said Dr. Robert Art of Brandeis University. “China can have a peaceful rise.”

The panels determined that the United States needs to realize the capabilities and limitations of power in the current global situation.

“This ‘Long War’ on terrorism is a war for social scientists,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales. “In this conflict, psycho-cultural victory is more important than geographic victory.”

The forum called for several solutions to build an effective military strategy in the 21st century.

The United States must make a greater use of sea-basing, the same way that it was used in response to Hurricane Katrina and the Southeast Asian Tsunami.

Also, American forces must have a discourse among leaders of all levels since tactical decisions can have strategic consequences. This includes building cultural awareness among its military service members.

Finally, the American public must be actively engaged in the global conflict.

“The military is fully mobilized, the population is not,” said Michele Flourney of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The annual forum is the capstone event in the Naval War College’s year-long curriculum. More than 1,000 military and strategic decision-makers from around the world participated in this year’s event.

Mullen said he is optimistic about the role the Navy will play in 21st century military strategy, which is why he chose the 2006 Current Strategy Forum to challenge the Navy to develop its maritime strategy for the challenges ahead.