Bringing National Security into the 21st Century

Bringing National Security into the 21st Century – Daniel Langberg, World Politics Review.

Two weeks ago, while discussing last November’s tragic events at Fort Hood, Defense Secretary Robert Gates proclaimed that the Pentagon “is burdened by 20th century processes and attitudes mostly rooted in the Cold War.” This acknowledgement by a wartime defense secretary is yet another stark reminder that the broader U.S. national security system was also designed for a much different era, and stands in need of a holistic review and systemic modernization…

Prior to the financial meltdown, it was post-invasion Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the events of Sept. 11, 2001, that spotlighted the mismatch between our outdated system of governance and its foremost mission of preserving the viability and vitality of the nation. Perhaps the 9/11 Commission (.pdf) said it best when it called the specific problems revealed by 9/11 “symptoms of the government’s broader inability to adapt how it manages problems to the new challenges of the 21st century.” …

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