Heard about this last week. Two Pentagon officials have written a paper under the pseudonym "Mr. Y." (an allusion to George Kennan's post-WW II paper on a new foreign policy which he published under the name "Mr. X.") The paper is called "A National Strategic Narrative" and it puts forward, among other points, a vision of a new way for America to manifest itself as a power in the world.
These are the real identities of the men who wrote the paper:
Captain Wayne Porter, US Navy, and Colonel Mark “Puck” Mykleby, US Marine Corps, both Special Assistants to the Chairman for Strategy to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen, as described on the page for the radio program on which I first heard about this:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2011/04/26/pentagon-securityHere's a link to a pdf of the paper itself:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/events/docs/A%20National%20Strategic%20Narrative.pdfAnne-Marie Slaughter (Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University, Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of State, 2009-2011), who is a witness at today's Afghanistan hearing, has written the preface to this paper, in which she sums it up this way:
A narrative is a story. A national strategic narrative must be a story that all Americans can
understand and identify with in their own lives. America’s national story has always see-sawed
between exceptionalism and universalism. We think that we are an exceptional nation, but a core
part of that exceptionalism is a commitment to universal values – to the equality of all human
beings not just within the borders of the United States, but around the world. We should thus
embrace the rise of other nations when that rise is powered by expanded prosperity, opportunity,
and dignity for their peoples. In such a world we do not need to see ourselves as the automatic
leader of any bloc of nations. We should be prepared instead to earn our influence through our
ability to compete with other nations, the evident prosperity and wellbeing of our people, and our
ability to engage not just with states but with societies in all their richness and complexity. We
do not want to be the sole superpower that billions of people around the world have learned to
hate from fear of our military might. We seek instead to be the nation other nations listen to, rely
on and emulate out of respect and admiration.
I don't know about you, but to me that sounds very close to the viewpoint of someone we all admire. I'm very interested to see Professor Slaughter at this hearing.
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