Premium Essay

The Pentagon’s New Map: It Explains Why We’re Going to War and Why We’ll Keep Going to War

In:

Submitted By jdpick10
Words 639
Pages 3
THESIS AND MAIN ARGUMENTS

The reason Barnett supports going to war in Iraq is not simply that Saddam is a cutthroat Stalinist willing to kill anyone to stay in power, nor because that regime has clearly supported terrorist networks over the years. The real reason he supports a war like this is that the resulting long-term military commitment will finally force America to deal with the entire Gap as a strategic environment. The primary division in the world today, he says, is between two sets countries that he calls the Core and the Gap. The Core consists of advanced countries that play by the rules and are committed to globalization (primarily Europe, North America, and Japan) plus countries that are committed to getting there (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and some others). This is a form of shrinking the gap aka promote globalization.

The less connected to globalization, the greater the chance is for U.S. military response.

However, the Middle East is ripe for change, a stronger “bully” could push it forward.

Focusing America’s military might in the Gap will set the conditions for globalization of nations in the region. Our presence in Japan and Western Europe generated extremely successful Core states.

The Gap is everyone else: a collection of disconnected, lawless, and dangerous countries such as
Colombia, Pakistan, and North Korea, plus most of the Middle East and Africa. American military action since World War II has been confined almost exclusively to the Gap, which means the task of the United States over the next several decades — and in particular the task of the United States military — is to shrink the Gap and eventually convert the entire world to the values of the Core. Only then will America and the rest of the current Core be safe. Regions not connected to globalization present the greatest threat to the United

Similar Documents

Free Essay

The Pentagon's New Map: It Explains Why We'Re Going to War and Why We'Ll Keep Going to War

...First, the world is essentially divided up into two parts, the Gap and the Core. The Gap is essentially the Third World, and the Core is the first world and those countries that either due to size, military capabilities, or growing economic impact is on its way to joining the Core. This latter sub-group are led by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The author explains that the key difference between the Gap and the Core is the plenitude of choices offered to their denizens. Those living in the Core are offered a greater and better range of choices due to their enhanced connectivity with each other and with the world. Likewise those in the Gap do not have such an offering of choices; either due to official censorship, lack of infrastructure or insufficient education. Second, the author argues that it is the lack of choices and lack of connectivity in the Gap that drives much of the world's major problems, such as terrorism, religious fundamentalism, civil conflicts, and the international black market in weapons, drugs and people. And from this logic, it is the Gap where these large problems originate. Third, the author argues that the USA, being the lone superpower left in the world, should make a earnest, comprehensive and all-consuming effort to "shrink the Gap" in the words of the author. Methods recommended by the author to shrink the Gap include establishment of trade treaties to expand international trade, foreign investment, preemptive military invasions...

Words: 256 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stage Setter

...C100 Foundations MAJ LeAngela Jones C112 Stage Setter Essay Thomas Barnett The Pentagon War:” It explains why we’re going to War and why we’ll Keep Going to War” CGSC 1. Critique the Author’s thesis: Thomas Barnett has briefed many people on The Pentagon’s New Map: It explains why we’re going to war and why we’ll keep going to war” as part of the Non-Integrating Gap. The Pentagon's New Map was intended to provide direction for the Pentagon in search of a strategy following the 1927 Post War and how globalization has affected this world. Is Thomas Barnett way of thinking about war the way most Americans think about war? I agree with the majority of Barnett’s article on “The Pentagon New Map”. He talks about how the threat of the disconnectedness of the Gap will reduce the level of disconnectedness and shrink the Gap. Protecting American citizens at home and abroad is one of the toughest tasks the President and Congressional leaders assume after they assume the oath of office. Disconnectedness can be seen among the citizens of the United States. Some of the same reasons identified by Barnett as causal factors are also applicable on a lesser scale. Take a look at the disadvantage people living in the United States; some in projects and others in trailer parks. Many of them are somewhat educated and want success; however, they take the wrong course of action to be successful. When they witness the success of others and the personal property owned by successful people...

Words: 1707 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Pentagon's New Map

...REQUIREMENT 1: Summary of Author’s Thesis and Main Arguments [20 points]. Your answer should be approximately one typed page. 1. Summarize the author’s thesis and main arguments in your own words. Do NOT just copy and paste from the article. I strongly believe that the author’s thesis is composed of two parts. First, the author divides the world in two distinct groups: the Functioning Core and the Non-Integrating Gap. The Functioning Core is composed of those nation-states that are connected through communication networks, agreements and associations, financial transactions, and security. He states that these nations are successful and stable because they are actively participating in an international environment with common rules and regulations that are convenient to the group and have common interests related to their economics and political goals The other point of view that the author describes is another group known as the Non-Integrating Gap (“Gap”) nations. The author finds that those nations that are not participating in globalization or participating in the international environment and are disconnected from the global community appeared to deal with oppressive political regimes, never-ending poverty and diseases, corruption, and are more susceptive to sponsor terrorism. Another point that the author discusses is the fact that the United States must address the security hazard and small conflicts of those “Gap” nations currently posse to our nation...

Words: 703 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Blink - the Power of Thinking Without Thinking

...ALSO BY MALCOLM GLADWELL The Tipping Point To my parents, Joyce and Graham Gladwell Introduction The Statue That Didn’t Look Right In September of 1983, an art dealer by the name of Gianfranco Becchina approached the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. He had in his possession, he said, a marble statue dating from the sixth century BC. It was what is known as a kouros—a sculpture of a nude male youth standing with his left leg forward and his arms at his sides. There are only about two hundred kouroi in existence, and most have been recovered badly damaged or in fragments from grave sites or archeological digs. But this one was almost perfectly preserved. It stood close to seven feet tall. It had a kind of light-colored glow that set it apart from other ancient works. It was an extraordinary find. Becchina’s asking price was just under $10 million. The Getty moved cautiously. It took the kouros on loan and began a thorough investigation. Was the statue consistent with other known kouroi? The answer appeared to be yes. The style of the sculpture seemed reminiscent of the Anavyssos kouros in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, meaning that it seemed to fit with a particular time and place. Where and when had the statue been found? No one knew precisely, but Becchina gave the Getty’s legal department a sheaf of documents relating to its more recent history. The kouros, the records stated, had been in the private collection of a Swiss physician named Lauffenberger...

Words: 74585 - Pages: 299

Premium Essay

Myths

...Senility Myth #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages 3 A REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Myth #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurate Events We’ve Experienced Myth #12 Hypnosis Is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Myth #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Myth #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives 4 TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS Myth #15 Intelligence (IQ) Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People My th #16 If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch Myth #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Myth #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to Their Learning Styles 5 ALTERED STATES Myth #19 Hypnosis Is a Unique “Trance” State that Differs in Kind from Wakefulness Myth #20 Researchers Have Demonstrated that Dreams Possess Symbolic Meaning Myth #21 People Can Learn Information, like New Languages, while Asleep Myth #22 During “Out-of-Body” Experiences, People’s Consciousness Leaves Their Bodies 6 I’VE GOT A FEELING Myth #23 The...

Words: 130018 - Pages: 521

Free Essay

Bush

...Playing Hardball 18. Meet the Help 19. The Conversion 20. The Skeleton in W.’s Closet 21. Shock and . . . Oil? 22. Deflection for Reelection 23. Domestic Disturbance 24. Conclusion Afterword Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade trying to find accurate information on Bush’s record in the Texas National Guard. My curiosity had been prompted by his failure to adequately answer a question I had asked him as a panelist in a televised debate with Ann Richards during the 1994 gubernatorial campaign. Eventually I published three books on Bush and his political consigliere, Karl Rove. During Bush’s presidency, many other...

Words: 249168 - Pages: 997

Free Essay

Code

...C O D E C ODE v e r s i o n 2 . 0 L A W R E N C E L E S S I G A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York Copyright © 2006 by Lawrence Lessig CC Attribution-ShareAlike Published by Basic Books A Member of the Perseus Books Group Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016–8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA 02142, or call (617) 252-5298, (800) 255-1514 or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com. CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN-10: 0–465–03914–6 ISBN-13: 978–0–465–03914–2 06 07 08 09 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Code version 1.0 FOR CHARLIE NESSON, WHOSE EVERY IDEA SEEMS CRAZY FOR ABOUT A YEAR. Code version 2.0 TO WIKIPEDIA, THE ONE SURPRISE THAT TEACHES MORE THAN EVERYTHING HERE. C O N T E N T S Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Chapter 1. Code Is Law Chapter 2. Four Puzzles from Cyberspace PART I: “REGULABILITY” ix xiii 1 9 Chapter 3. Is-Ism: Is the Way It Is the Way It Must Be? Chapter 4. Architectures of Control Chapter 5. Regulating Code PART II: REGULATION BY CODE 31 38 61 Chapter 6. Cyberspaces Chapter 7. What Things Regulate...

Words: 190498 - Pages: 762