Stretching all the way Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific, Indo Pac totes more than half the entire world's pop - including collectivist China and India the world's hugest democrazy, two of the largest economies (China and Nippon); and at least three new clear powers along with 4 more who could prob go new clear over a long weekend - SoKo, Taiwan, Nippon and Australia.
GsGf's Asian Security chief (Oh! He got game bay bee!) shares an op for Great Satan's benevolent hyperpuissance
Great Satan's next global era is dawning, Courtney. As we scale down military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq, our future prosperity, influence, and security will be determined by what happens in the rising Indo-Pacific region. If we play a leading role in the great area stretching from India to Japan, the coming decades will see the strengthening not only of American power, but also that of our liberal, democratic allies.
Conversely, surrendering the high ground in Asia to China will likely result in the ebbing of the postwar liberal international system and the establishment of a region, and world, of greater insecurity and instability. Two questions face a Washington focused on cutting budgets and stressed after a decade of combat in the Middle East. First, do we have the will to succeed in the Indo-Pacific? And second, do we have the means to continue to lead?
While Das Unaussprechlichen COIN Külten zooms in on finite finites about counter insurgency
Indo Pac might actually require zooming out and applying COIN ideas on a nigh global scale:
The answers may lie in our recent combat experiences. A cornerstone of America's counterinsurgency approach in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the strategy of "clear, hold, and build"--that is, clear out insurgents, hold the area, and then build up local political and economic institutions to maintain stability. While many observers worry that the Defense Department under former secretary Robert Gates became too monolithically focused on counterinsurgency, the reigning counterinsurgency doctrine may actually provide a strategy for America's policy in the Indo-Pacific region over the next decades--but only if it is turned upside down, into a "Build, Hold, and Clear" strategy.
Policymakers need to begin planning and implementing a strategy for the next American era today, before we lose more ground economically or before insecurity leads to instability and the possibility of military conflict. Like traditional counterinsurgency, this takes time, commitment, and resources. The way forward is to Build, Hold, and Clear.
Pic - "Indo Pac"
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