Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

I skip breakfast and meet Moon and his aide for the drive to the American Embassy. They have a 0900 meeting and I sit in a conference room on the first floor, outside security, to work my brief.

Then USAID and State and defense attaches all come in to the room at 1000, expecting a brief from me, apparently. Crossed wires, I tell them. Then I get their cards and whip out the recorders. Everything is background only, but it’s a spirited discussion. Goss, the admiral’s aide, observes and subsequently brings Moon in to pick up on the conversation. Pretty soon he’s running the interview, which I have to gently stop. Truth is, it’s not an interview but more of a debate with me as facilitator.

We’re out of the AMEMB, and are driven to local mall, where other car shows up with Hart and his POLAD. Everyone gets their own at a food court and joins up at tables. Security detail seems cool on the locale. I get Chinese and it’s great. Later a latte and a brownie. I am feeling downright normal.

Another long drive, this time with me and Fred, the POLAD in the back seat. I work the brief like crazy, diddling with a couple of slides.

We pull into the National Defence College base. I am introduced to the commandant, and then taken to the hall, where already, about 40 officers are in the stands (one of those rising lecture halls). It’s 1400 and I diddle with slides right to 1420, then check the AV, then am escorted to the commandant’s office. I’m wearing my black travel pants, my jungle boots (I brought nothing else) and a black short-sleeve collar shirt, so I’m in my “futurist” fashion mode. POLAD Fred, after previous night’s discussion with admirals, brings his blue blazer. I slip it on just as I’m escorted into the commandant’s office.

Inside are Hart, Moon, the POLAD, the commandant, the minister of defense, and the heads of the navy, army and air force. Everyone is in suits, so intro’s all around. Then I go into visionary mode and start “weaving the mist,” as Steve (my boss) likes to say. It’s a quick ten and then we head down to the lecture hall. As I wait outside with the commandant, everyone else takes seats up high. Then we enter, everyone stands like at NDU, I am directed to a side table, and the commandant gives a long and detailed intro that lasts almost 15 minutes.

I go 75 and do 30 Q&A. It’s an inspired and rather vigorous performance by me. I have no idea where it comes from because I’m feeling pretty funky and up to that point I do my best, non-threatening, question-tossing reporter shtick. Hart knows what I’m capable of and loves it. Moon seems very surprised by the delivery, like I’m suddenly transformed.

I am. The scene has to psyche anyone: I’m holding court on 50 of the continent’s best and brightest generals. About 35 from Kenya, and the rest spread from all over Africa. I just get this very intense vibe from the audience. When I presented hardcovers of both books to the commandant earlier, he was thrilled, saying he had just ordered ten copies of each for the library but they had not yet come, so the students were instructed to download a bunch of my articles from my site. He said he wanted to read them first, but then he’d send to the library eventually. He had seen my two years ago at NDU in DC, thus he was pumped to nab me for the talk. HOA was happy, because this became excuse for first official HOA-NDC contact. After my talk, Hart and the commandant exchanged plaques, which got to me a bit. Hell, I did all the work!

Later Hart gave me his new personal coin, which I liked just fine. Still, how many times do I lecture at foreign defence colleges? Basically once every two years or so, and I usually get the cool plaque or piece of crystal. But I’m cool with the outcome.

Frankly, the questions, which I took in threes from the officers, were among the best I’ve ever gotten. I wrote them all down, but am saving for Vol. III!

It was kind of weird, this whole show, like I’m working for HOA and the AMEMB all of a sudden, giving this big-deal speech where plaques are exchanged and so forth, when I’m really a reporter in country to do a story--a strange mix that’s typical for me, but still it seems weird.

Most important, everyone seems thrilled with the outcome and keeps saying so, so I’m high as a kite as I always am after a good, big show. Pumped as hell, we’re back in the cars, zooming away.

We head to Hart’s hotel, where we disperse for about an hour while the admirals make calls regarding the accident.

I do the Internet café and get off a whole email to Vonne. It takes 20 minutes to pull off, that’s how slow the connection is. Still, for just over $4, I’m reasonably happy.

At that point I bug out with Hart and the POLAD and visit the local AMEMB at his personal residence in Nairobi. It’s a classically beautiful British home in Kenya, with--according to the ambassador--plenty of local wildlife in the back. Unlike the almost too-smooth Symington back in Djibouti, this guy (Ranenberger or something like that) is willing to let me take notes over the wine. I don’t pull a recorder because I think that would ruin the mood (simple drinks in the guy’s living room). Fortunately, this ambassador is also a quote machine (thus my disappointment with Symington), and the discussion between he and Hart is great (I understand my privilege and required discretion as I basically get to sit in on their time, as everybody in the room is working for the USG except me.

On the way out, we bump into a senior civilian from European Command who’s just coming in. She’s excited to meet me once my name is mentioned, and goes out of her way to tell me how often the concepts from my books are brought up in senior meetings at the command. Following the college talk and the good gouge from the ambassador, I’m pretty much on cloud 9 at this point. Ego-wise, the highlight of the hybrid trip, the baseline for any strategist being the utility of his work to practitioners.

Another drive to another local fabled Italian restaurant. Long dinner with great conversations among everyone in our party. I am getting to like Tusker beer quite a bit.

Back in room again around 2300. Download my tapes and pics, but few today, since I was the show for the most part. But it was payment for all the quasi-VIP treatment, plus all the arranged access.

You know. Nic Kristof was just through HOA (Sunday column while I was here, I am told) and Tom Friedman stops by in April. Betcha neither ended/end up delivering addresses at the National Defence College in Nairobi!

Watch some Star Trek V and hit the hay around 0100.