Former Pentagon official questions policies
By John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Lawrence J. Korb

Lawrence J. Korb, assistant US Secretary of Defense from 1981 through 1985, spoke to the Columbia World Affairs Council Monday, June 4.

He was a senior fellow and director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, council vice president, and director of studies.

Prior to joining the council, Korb served as director of the Center for Public Policy Education and senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. He had also been dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He was also vice president of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company.

Korb began his address by identifying America's enemies. At the top are the violent extremists, such as Al Qaeda. Then come the extreme regimes, like North Korea. And third in line are the weak and failing states, the ones getting desperate.

He labeled the terrorists as gangsters, players with the tactics of terrorism but with no home support. They are not nationalists. And they shouldn't be elevated to the status of national representatives.

Korb reviewed a few rules of the game. Korb noted a civil society cannot be imposed by the force of a gun, and stability must be achieved before democracy can be attempted.

While the U.S. and its allies are slugging it out in the Middle East, Korb warned the action could spread to Central Asia and its oil fields, becoming the next Middle East. Meanwhile, the Russians haven't recognized they lost the Cold War.

Russia is a declining power with a declining population. The people there are so discouraged they hesitate to bring on new generations to suffer the same fate.

A frightening realization Korb shared was President Bush's (#43's) declaration he was chosen by a higher father. That is, he was chosen by God for his current mission. Korb quoted President Lincoln who said, "God doesn't choose winners or losers."

Korb questions the status of the U.S. Army, the fitness of the firm. He reminded the audience 900 felons had recently been accepted for service, and 42- year- olds were deemed ready, available, and acceptable to begin basic training.

What's next? Korb looks forward to the September Report on the Iraq Surge as a turning point. That's when re- evaluations occur and when reality checks kick in. For now, only about one- third of Baghdad is under control. After all, 30,000 U.S. troops are installed in a city of six million, and that unfavorable condition is not likely to improve.