Intro to International Relations 101

A key aspect of the study of international relations is to appreciate the need to respect the culture of the people with which you are dealing. While it might be morally correct and emotionally satisfying to overlay the diplomacy with the facade of western values, the reality is that in many of the tinder-boxes of the world those values don't apply. Social engineering on our behalf is naive and predisposing failure.

What am I talking about? Try this on for size:

Women Will Be Involved in Policy Negotiations

Seriously? How do you think that is going to play in Afghanistan? Saudi Arabia? Sub-Saharan Africa?

Let us note that in many areas of the world women have been politically active for some time and in fact, there are many instances of female success in gaining power and leadership roles. Margaret Thatcher is obvious as well as Golda Meir. Benizir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Cristina Kirchner and Angela Merkel are good examples as well. But those are reflections of the societal acceptance within those nations. We don't get to tell them who represents them or who will sit at the negotiating table. We simply don't have that authority.

As a result, U.S. combatant commanders will have an officer dedicated to gender issues to ensure protecting women is central to planning, and American diplomats will focus on bringing women into the political process as a core part of their work.

"Enabling women to have a voice alongside those of men in matters of international peace and security is the right thing to do," a senior administration official said.

That's all a field commander needs! Gotta have an officer "dedicated to gender issues" on the staff. How about an officer dedicated to supply, logistics, communication, fire support, tactical control, etc. War is about killing people and breaking things. "Anything else is rubbish."

And, memo to Hillary: They are COMBAT commanders, not combatant commanders.