Hope Without Guarantees
Thomas P.M. Barnett on Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt has been running an extremely
interesing weekly fetaure as of late, interviewing Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett about
his book on strategery "The
Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-first Century". The
book has been out since 2004, but its contents are as relevant today as they
were then. That may sound strange, but given the pace of change in the world
nowadays, that actually is saying
something.
Anyhow, today I was out running along Chesapeake Bay, ignoring the wind and cold by listening to Hugh's latest (and last) session with Barnett on my iPod. As always it was thought provoking and well worth the 35 minutes of listening time that it requires.
Since I have thoroughly enjoyed all 8 sessions that Hugh has done, I figured that I would compile links to all of the shows and post them here. Alas, I was too late to the punch, as Hugh has already done so! So I will plagarize....I hope he doesn't mind.
Barnett's own Blog is worth a daily look, as he is always posting stories with global relevance, and that help to make his points. For instance, one of his big threads is 'connectivity'. Today as a globe all of the successful and peaceful regions are 'connected' (i.e. Globalized, which Barnett calls the "Core"), and those filled with strife are 'non-integrated' in a meaningful way to the rest of the 'civilized' world. His premise is that once a nation becomes connected, the less of a threat it will be to us and the rest of the world. He often repeats this point about China, saying that he does not view them as as much of a threat as some do, mainly because they are so tied to us economically. One post from today highlights this idea with the news of the China sell-off on Tuesday. No matter how you look at it, if he posts it, it is probably worth a read.
One other 'New Map' resource that many may enjoy is a video of the Barnett's legendary Powerpoint skills, along with a good helping of the ideas presented in his book. I highly recommend it. (And while you are at that webpage, check out some of the other presentations offered. Max Boot and Robert Kaplan are always well worth listening to, and the other most relevant offering is LTC John Nagl's "Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife").
UPDATE: Here is another, more recent, Barnett presentation. I haven't watched it yet, but I am sure it is good....
UPDATE II: OK, so now I have watched the video above, and as expected, it is a great short (Well short for Barnett at 30 mins) intro to his theories. I will say that as enjoyable as his discussions with Hugh Hewitt were, I prefer these presentations, as the allow his wit to come out. My favorite line about U.S. strategy in today's world..."We build a first-half team, to play in a league that insists on keeping score until the end of the game. The Army's Future Combat System and Air Force's F-22s are expensive "First-half" weapons that can be built in Congressmen's districts. Counter-insurgency training is comparatively cheap and won't bring 1000 jobs to the same Congressmen's district. Do we have to wonder why we have a "first-half team"?
Anyhow, today I was out running along Chesapeake Bay, ignoring the wind and cold by listening to Hugh's latest (and last) session with Barnett on my iPod. As always it was thought provoking and well worth the 35 minutes of listening time that it requires.
Since I have thoroughly enjoyed all 8 sessions that Hugh has done, I figured that I would compile links to all of the shows and post them here. Alas, I was too late to the punch, as Hugh has already done so! So I will plagarize....I hope he doesn't mind.
In today's second hour I will conclude the eight-part series devoted to Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett's The Pentagon's New Map. Dr. Barnett and I have have spent an hour each week for the past two months discussing one chapter at a time. Reaction to the series has been very positive, largely because Dr. Barnett is an accomplished speaker and the book tackles the biggest issues in a compelling fashion.
The transcript of our brief introductory talk is here, and the audio here.
The transcript of part 1 is here, and the audio here.
The transcript of part 2 is here, and the audio here.
The transcript of part 3 is here, and the audio here.
The transcript of part 4 is here, and the audio is here.
The transcript of part 5 is here, and the audio is here.
The transcript of part 6 is here, and the audio is here.
The transcript of part 7 is here, and the audio is here.
The transcript of today's interview will be posted here later, and the audio here.
Barnett's own Blog is worth a daily look, as he is always posting stories with global relevance, and that help to make his points. For instance, one of his big threads is 'connectivity'. Today as a globe all of the successful and peaceful regions are 'connected' (i.e. Globalized, which Barnett calls the "Core"), and those filled with strife are 'non-integrated' in a meaningful way to the rest of the 'civilized' world. His premise is that once a nation becomes connected, the less of a threat it will be to us and the rest of the world. He often repeats this point about China, saying that he does not view them as as much of a threat as some do, mainly because they are so tied to us economically. One post from today highlights this idea with the news of the China sell-off on Tuesday. No matter how you look at it, if he posts it, it is probably worth a read.
One other 'New Map' resource that many may enjoy is a video of the Barnett's legendary Powerpoint skills, along with a good helping of the ideas presented in his book. I highly recommend it. (And while you are at that webpage, check out some of the other presentations offered. Max Boot and Robert Kaplan are always well worth listening to, and the other most relevant offering is LTC John Nagl's "Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife").
UPDATE: Here is another, more recent, Barnett presentation. I haven't watched it yet, but I am sure it is good....
UPDATE II: OK, so now I have watched the video above, and as expected, it is a great short (Well short for Barnett at 30 mins) intro to his theories. I will say that as enjoyable as his discussions with Hugh Hewitt were, I prefer these presentations, as the allow his wit to come out. My favorite line about U.S. strategy in today's world..."We build a first-half team, to play in a league that insists on keeping score until the end of the game. The Army's Future Combat System and Air Force's F-22s are expensive "First-half" weapons that can be built in Congressmen's districts. Counter-insurgency training is comparatively cheap and won't bring 1000 jobs to the same Congressmen's district. Do we have to wonder why we have a "first-half team"?
Posted: Thu - March 1, 2007 at 08:18 PM
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Published On: Mar 01, 2007 11:20 PM
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Published On: Mar 01, 2007 11:20 PM