Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
October 18, 2007 U.S. maritime military strategy will stress humanitarian help in the antiterrorism fight.
By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military unveiled a new maritime strategy yesterday - its first created jointly by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - shifting from a narrow focus on sea combat toward one that also emphasizes "soft power," such as humanitarian assistance, to counter terrorism.
The strategy, shaped by the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars that followed, stresses preventing conflict as much as winning wars and recognizes that "no one nation" can secure the world's waters against terrorism and other threats.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; Gen. James Conway, Marine Corps commandant; and Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, presented the strategy - "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" - to maritime leaders from more than 100 countries attending an international seapower symposium at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
The new approach marks a stark departure from the last U.S. maritime strategy, conceived by the Navy in the 1980s, which focused heavily on offensive operations against the Soviet Union. "This isn't just a strategy about putting ordnance on a target or sinking someone else's fleet," a senior Navy official said.
"Soft power, the humanitarian and economic efforts, have been elevated to the same level as high-end naval warfare," said another senior Navy official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity.
The 16-page document was developed over two years and outlines six imperatives. These include the traditional missions of concentrating major combat forces in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and western Pacific to deter or fight potential conflicts.
Protecting vital sea lanes is a growing priority, it said, as seaborne trade has more than quadrupled over the last four decades and accounts for 90 percent of all international commerce and two-thirds of global petroleum trade.
In addition, the strategy calls for dispersing smaller maritime teams to carry out humanitarian missions and to counter terrorism, weapons proliferation, piracy, and other illicit maritime activities, in part to contain local threats before they can reach the United States.
October 18, 2007 U.S. maritime military strategy will stress humanitarian help in the antiterrorism fight.
By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military unveiled a new maritime strategy yesterday - its first created jointly by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - shifting from a narrow focus on sea combat toward one that also emphasizes "soft power," such as humanitarian assistance, to counter terrorism.
The strategy, shaped by the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars that followed, stresses preventing conflict as much as winning wars and recognizes that "no one nation" can secure the world's waters against terrorism and other threats.
Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; Gen. James Conway, Marine Corps commandant; and Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, presented the strategy - "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" - to maritime leaders from more than 100 countries attending an international seapower symposium at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
The new approach marks a stark departure from the last U.S. maritime strategy, conceived by the Navy in the 1980s, which focused heavily on offensive operations against the Soviet Union. "This isn't just a strategy about putting ordnance on a target or sinking someone else's fleet," a senior Navy official said.
"Soft power, the humanitarian and economic efforts, have been elevated to the same level as high-end naval warfare," said another senior Navy official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity.
The 16-page document was developed over two years and outlines six imperatives. These include the traditional missions of concentrating major combat forces in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and western Pacific to deter or fight potential conflicts.
Protecting vital sea lanes is a growing priority, it said, as seaborne trade has more than quadrupled over the last four decades and accounts for 90 percent of all international commerce and two-thirds of global petroleum trade.
In addition, the strategy calls for dispersing smaller maritime teams to carry out humanitarian missions and to counter terrorism, weapons proliferation, piracy, and other illicit maritime activities, in part to contain local threats before they can reach the United States.