Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 25 January 2005
Here's another review of PNM as it appeared in the January issue of Military Officer (p. 20), where Hank Gaffney and I had our joint article, "The Global Transaction Strategy," published almost two years ago.
The full text follows, then my commentary:
In Review
The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century By Thomas P.M. Barnett, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2004. $26.95. ISBN 0-399-15175-3.
Naval War College professor Thomas Barnett offers a slick package of solutions for the new threats to global security. He suggests the United States adopt a new global map, dividing the world into two areas--the Functioning Core and the Non-Integrating Gap, new names for the haves and have-nots. He proposes the core nations make every effort to assimilate the gap nations, using globalization and connectivity to encourage stable governments, prosperous economies, and secure societies.
Barnett suggests the United States reorganize its military to provide a high-tech powerful force to win any war and a low-tech, multilateral force to win the peace. His thoughts on military alliances with China and India are provocative and risky.
In addition to his annoying self-promotion, continually telling the reader how smart he is, Barnett's ideas really are just cleverly package versions of old arguments.
--William D. Bushnell
COMMENTARY: If Core-Gap is just new terminology for Haves and Have Nots, then how come two countries (China, India) full with hundreds of millions of people living on less than a couple of bucks a day are considered Core/Haves? Why are my ideas of military alliances with China and India risky? Does Bushnell foresee a future global economy where we're at odds or at war with these states? If not, why is alliance so provocative?
I guess I will confess to being both slick and clever, two traits you never want to see in a book on strategy. Better to offer old packages of old ideas from dead white men and let it go at that.
I don't think Bushnell's old brain recognized anything new in the book: rich countries v. poor ones, don't ruin my military by turning them into the Peace Corps, stay away from old commies, there's nothing new under the sun.
Quite the effort.
