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December 1, 2008
Posted: 1845 GMT
How things change. It seems like yesterday when the U.S. was certain about winning a military victory over al Qaeda. But lately the Bush administration’s emphasis appears to have shifted away from winning the war by military power alone, especially the war against an unconventional enemy that respects no frontiers and rules of war. Soft power is back. Now the incoming president is vowing to make soft power part of his national security strategy. President elect Barak Obama has selected a mix of people who share the same idea: that America has to invest in soft power if it wants to protect its security. As future Secretary of State to be Hillary Clinton will be in charge of such a policy but she can’t do it on her own. The question is, will the Pentagon share its military budget with the foot soldiers of soft power: diplomats and aid workers? The current and next Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is a strong advocate of soft power. Gen. James Jones, a former NATO commander and the new president’s national security adviser, has seen it in Afghanistan, the U.S. military gaining ground fighting extremists in Afghanistan, only to lose it for lack of resources to hold it with soft power. So will we see the softer face of American foreign policy? A lot depends on the U.S. Congress, which holds the purse strings. Congressional leaders will be pulled in two directions. Those on the left, who point to the growing number of Americans left jobless by the financial meltdown who, they say, will need help first. And those on the right who have a problem with soft power in the first place. Lawmakers may not have a choice but to invest in national security. The Mumbai attacks made it all too clear that the war against terrorism is far from over. What’s more, it is becoming more unpredictable, with terrorists using unprecedented tactics and broadening their targets to include American civilians overseas. Posted by: CNN Anchor, Ralitsa Vassileva |
 
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