Small Wars Journal

Discourse on America's Discourse

Sat, 10/02/2010 - 6:11am
With all we do here we often neglect the important stuff being done here. Visit MountainRunner early and often for all your public diplomacy, strategic communications, and global engagement needs - you won't be disappointed. SWJ kudos to Matt Armstrong and his impressive list of guest authors.

Comments

LTC Chuck Chappell (not verified)

Sun, 10/03/2010 - 8:44am

That is indeed an outstanding link, thanks.

The article on the page that caught my eye immediately was the "Smith Mundt Modernization Act of 2010". http://mountainrunner.us/2010/07/5792_thornberrysmith.html
Having heard senior Army leaders in recent years lament that "We are losing the battle of the narrative", I would agree with them. We are losing the battle because we are not fighting it, and the Smith-Mundt Act as currently amended and described in the article is in no small measure to blame for that.

DoD can't fix this problem, but the issue certainly impacts every facet of the WAAQATTO that we are fighting now (yep, that's the current official euphemism, I leave it to the interested reader to discover what it means).