The American Republic is out of balance — collapsing from poor governance and the triumph of special interests over the public interest. There are two root causes — the corruption of the US political process that disenfranchises sixty percent of the public and blocks Independents and small parties from ballot access, and a dysfunctional intelligence architecture that lacks integrity — as Henry Kissinger has observed, intelligence is not necessary to the exercise of power (as now practiced by an elite-driven national security state) and is often useless.
No one since President Ike Eisenhower and Project Solarium has ever attempted an official honest, comprehensive, and coherent formulation of a grand strategy that balances ends, means, and ways for all government functions, not only in the national security arena, where the military is consuming 60% of the disposable budget in 2015, but across the domestic front as well.
This essay began with a simple question: should the Army be buying 55-60 ton infantry vehicles and preparing for a Big War with China or Russia on “over there?” The answer to that question turns out to be no, but only if the Air Force can do precision nuclear deterrence and the US Navy can build a 450 ship Navy.
Surprisingly and most helpful, by creating a notional grand strategy at four levels of analysis (strategic, operational, tactical, and technical) in which four stove-pipes are considered side by side (White House & Congress; Intelligence & Covert Actions; Diplomacy & Development; Army, Air Force, Navy & Marines) a process has been identified that could address Congressional opposition to long-needed reforms — a process that is job and revenue neutral from district to district, but because of its overall coherence, enables both the reconstitution of the home front, and the creation of a strong military that is affordable, balanced, and flexible.
