Matt Armstrong
I had no intention of posting anything today or this week, but I just read a passage I feel compelled to share. It is a true example of an evergreen analysis. For those who may not be aware, Evergreen refers to something that remains popular or relevant over time. In this case, it’s not popular, just relevant. Here is the passage: It is my own conviction that Americans too often give this ‘organizational problem’ a priority which it does not deserve. Americans are prone to believe that if they can find an apt name and draw up an imposing organizational chart, then matters will more or less take care of themselves.
Ha! This applies to seemingly countless national security topics today, not the least of which has been in my sights for literally decades: the chant of “bring back USIA.” The author above wrote long before Field of Dreams came out and long before the book it was based on came out (1989 and 1982, respectively, for those who want to feel old).1
What was the “organizational problem”? Directly preceding the above, which appeared on page 244 of his book, were the questions, “Who is going to conduct such operations as I have been discussing? Who, in the sense not of particularly individuals, but of agencies or organizations?” The operations were countering, preemptively and reactively, Russian “political-subversive warfare.”
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