Shotgun Wedding: Interagency Transformation for the 21st Century Security Environment

The first eight years of the 21st Century are replete with examples of a rapidly changing and dynamic global security environment in which the United States must operate. Equally present are the numerous statements and studies by governmental bodies, military leadership, non-partisan think tanks, academia and political elites who believe the current National Security and Interagency apparatus is incapable of responding effectively to such an environment. The planning and execution of the invasion of Iraq, more specifically post hostility operations or phase IV, and events leading up to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are arguably the most telling examples of how ineffective and outdated the current national security apparatus is with respect to the new and enduring challenges of the 21st Century. In response to such dramatic environmental change, the current national security apparatus, not only the Department of Defense DOD, must transform itself into a multi-dimensional interagency system capable of achieving unity of effort across all elements of national power.