Winning the Peace
June 25, 2003
By Senator John Edwards
Over the past two
years, America has proved again that we have the finest military force in
the world. In Afghanistan and
Iraq, the men and women of America’s military performed with great
bravery and skill. In defeating the Taliban and removing Saddam
Hussein’s regime from power, they demonstrated that the United States
possesses the world’s best-trained troops equipped with the most
sophisticated weapons.
But these
decisive military victories have been followed by a peace where success
has not been so clear. First
in Afghanistan, and now in Iraq, our efforts to help these societies get
back on their feet have produced mixed results. To be sure, the challenges
in both countries are profound: Afghanistan suffered from nearly a
quarter-century of civil war, and Iraq suffered for more than two decades
under Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime.
Both countries have deep internal divisions and little experience
with representative government. While it is reasonable to assume
post-conflict reconstruction efforts in both nations will take
considerable time, these realities cannot be an excuse for the overall
shortcoming in our own efforts, especially because we have the resources
and capabilities to do better. It
is in our national interest to ensure that Afghanistan and Iraq not become
failed states and breeding grounds of future threats to America’s
national security.
This is not the
first time we have faced such challenges.
Since the end of the Cold War, thousands of American military,
diplomatic and humanitarian personnel have also been involved in major
post-conflict reconstruction efforts in such places as Bosnia, Kosovo,
Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti and East Timor.
Each of these efforts has had varying degrees of success, but on
balance, I think we all can agree that we could have done better.
The fact that Al-Qaeda operatives set up shop in places like Bosnia
and Somalia highlights the importance of reconstructing societies so they
can better avoid international terrorist movements.
Unfortunately,
all too often, our response to post-conflict situations has been haphazard
and slow to start. And once
underway, our efforts often suffer from a cumbersome chain-of-command,
lack of resources and inadequate accountability.
The problem is
that our government is still not well organized to deal with such
situations. Each time we get
involved in a post-conflict reconstruction effort we end up making it up
as we go. We waste valuable
time reinventing the bureaucratic wheel. And
we get in unnecessary arguments about who should do what and who should be
in charge.
It is remarkable
that even with all the commitments we have made during the past decade,
next to nothing has been done to reform the way our government deals with
these situations effectively. Governmental
mechanisms developed during the Cold War are outdated and not suited to
addressing the complex set of challenges created by failed states.
After more than
ten years of improvising our responses to these challenges, it is time to
change the way we do things. We
need to improve our ability to plan, coordinate and organize U.S.
government resources to assist with post-conflict reconstruction.
We need to train our people more effectively. We need greater accountability.
And we need to promote the means for involving other countries in
these efforts, including institutions like NATO.
Along with my
colleagues Jack Reed and Pat Roberts, I have introduced the “Winning the
Peace Act,” legislation that will improve post-conflict reconstruction
in five ways.
First, it calls
on the president to appoint a Director of Reconstruction for areas where
the United States will assist with post-conflict reconstruction. These directors will provide oversight, help coordinate and
have decision-making authority for all U.S. government reconstruction
activities in a particular country. They
will also coordinate with the representatives of the country in question,
other foreign governments, multilateral organizations and relevant
non-governmental organizations.
Second, it
establishes a permanent office within the State Department to provide
support to Directors of Reconstruction, ensuring that these directors can
hit the ground running and not waste valuable time hiring staff and
getting office space.
Third, it
establishes within USAID an Office of International Emergency Management.
This new office will develop and maintain a database of individuals
with expertise in reconstruction, and provide support for mobilizing these
experts.
Fourth, it calls
on NATO to develop an “Integrated Security Support Component” to
assist with reconstruction, building on commitments made at the recent
Prague summit. This NATO-led
force will help provide security, including assistance with
policing—ensuring that America will not be forced to shoulder these
burdens alone.
Finally, this
legislation would establish an interagency training center for
post-conflict reconstruction. This
will be run by the State Department, and will help train personnel in
assessment, strategy development, planning and coordination related to
providing reconstruction services. It
will also develop and certify experts in the field, and conduct
lesson-learned reviews of operations.
Having these
resources in place will enhance America’s capacity to assist
reconstruction in four critical areas:
1) Security and public safety (such as assisting with
disarmament and training of police forces);
2) Justice (such as developing the rule of law, preventing human
rights violations, and bringing war criminals to justice);
3) Governance (such as reforming civil
administration, restoring basic civil functions, and establishing
processes of governance and participation); and
4) Economic and social well-being (such as providing humanitarian
assistance and developing national economic institutions).
With these
changes, we will not only make America’s efforts to assist in
post-conflict reconstruction more efficient and accountable.
We will also make our efforts more effective—contributing more to
the safety and security of the people we are trying to help, and helping
them run their countries on their own.
By ensuring that
we maintain the best military in the world, we have made a full commitment
to winning wars. It is now
time to ensure that we are capable of winning the peace.
The author represents North Carolina in the United States Senate. This essay is adapted from a June 11, 2003 speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate.