Smart/Soft Power CT/COIN/Stability Strategy -> GlobalServiceAcademy@GovernorsIsland (Part1-of-3)

8/9/2019 Smart/Soft Power CT/COIN/Stability Strategy -> GlobalServiceAcademy@GovernorsIsland (Part1-of-3)

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December 25, 2008

Dr. Joseph S. Nye, Jr.HARVARD Kennedy SchoolJohn F. Kennedy School of Government

79 John F. Kennedy Street, Taubman-162Cambridge, MA 02138

Dear Dr. Nye,

Almost all smart/soft power CT/COIN analyses and strategies are ignoring whatDr. Joseph Campbell called the spiritual dimension and the power of myth: myths not inthe modern, derogatory, empty-hyperbole sense; but rather myths as clues to thespiritual potentialities of the human life; guideposts, signs that can provide a deep, rich,eternal, song-of-the-universe, life-vivifying sort of feeling that you wont want to give up the rapture of being alive.

The twenty-first century wave ofspiritual awakening OBL refers to repeatedly in his

speeches, interviews, and fatwas is a force multiplier and public support generator.Twentieth century American instruments of soft power (e.g. public diplomacy,broadcasting, exchange programs, development assistance, disaster relief, Hollywood,universities, etc.) cant compete with the timeless, transcendent attraction of whatDouglas Johnston called the spiritual phenomena in Religion, the Missing Dimension ofStatecraft (CSIS, 1994); what five military leaders labeled the rise of the irrational intheir Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World (Noaber Foundation, 2007); what AnupamRay identified as an enormous spiritual hunger across the world in Islamic RadicalIdeologies (CSIS, 2008); and what Mitchell Silber and Arvin Bhatt personified as thespiritual sanctioner in their report, Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat.According to Messrs. Silber and Bhatt, its the spiritual sanctioner who provides the

justification for jihada justification that is especially essential for the suicide terrorist.

In some cases the sanctioner was the nucleus around which the cluster formed. [And inall cases] each group needs certain archetypes [spiritual sanctioner] to evolve from justbeing a bunch of guys to an operational terrorist cell. (NYPD Intelligence, 2007)

While the US is promoting a strictly rational, materialistic value system and ideologycompletely devoid of explicit spirituality, OBL & Co. is dominating the market for mythand transcendent mystery. While the US is struggling to win hearts & minds, OBL & Co.is engaging the epic imaginations of billions under twenty-five. While the US is focusedon the short-term physical well-being of humanity, OBL & Co. is exploiting the eternalspiritual hunger for an archetypal hero adventure in pursuit ofbliss through sacrifice.While the US is trying to secure all the fissile material in the world, OBL & Co. only needone loose nuke to fulfill its deity-decreed duty.

From all Ive read and heard on the conditions conducive to radicalization and the spreadof terrorism/insurgency, each discipline focused on its part of the complex whole;military, political, criminal, judicial, economic, diplomatic, demographic, health,environmental, social, cultural, educational, ethnic, and religious aspects of theproblem/solution were discussed at length (and often cross-referenced). The three-levelchessboard analogy you drew in the Lane Lecture you gave at the Pacific Forum CSISannual Board of Governors dinner conveyed the chaotic, integrated dynamic of all thesematerialistic systems.

Christine Lederhouse | 219 East 25th Street, Studio 5E | NY, NY 10010 | [email protected]


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However, for people who dont separate spiritual from material; church from state;sacred from secular, this picture doesnt capture their experience of life and anystrategies based on it will never resonate with them. Their metaphor is a loom where the horizontal weft threads are the physical world weaving in & out of the verticalwarp threads of the spiritual plane of being which according to Dr. Campbell informs thewhole thing. In the tapestry analogy, the spiritual permeates every aspect of physical life

and directs all activity in both public and private spheres seamlessly.Like you, Dr. Campbell spent his life studying global power systems. From differentdisciplines, drivers, and dimensions, you both came to the same realization; invisibleforces are at work that influence the behavior of human beings around the world. Youcall them soft power; he called them myths. If Dr. Campbell were still alive, hed sendyou his Pow er of Myth series and:

encourage you to create a 360 material/spiritual, micro-to-macro-to-noosphere view(append his work to yours Douglas Johnston, Anne ODonnell, Samuel Huntington,Karin von Hippel, David Steele, Karim Sadjadpour, Patrick Cockburn, Mitchell Silber,Arvin Bhatt, Victor Kazanjian, Jay Giedd, and Roger Nelson can assist);

suggest you share it with others working on CT/COIN strategies (maybe email themthe partial transcripts of the conversations he had with Bill Moyers in 1986 on theHeros Adventure, Message of the Myth, Masks of Eternity, Sacrifice and Bliss);

recommend you put together a team to craft the kernel of a future global myth (starta narrative with the analogy he drew between religious traditions and computersoftware, extend it to include 21st century tools/tech/science, infuse it with universalvalues, and launch it into the noosphere Benot Mandelbrot, Anthony Judge,Spencer Wells, Anna Greenberg, John Arquilla, David Ronfeldt, Gary Simons, MarcLynch, Joanne Rowling, Will Wright, Bryan Fuller, and George Lucas can collaborate);

urge you to employ chaos theory to maximize American soft powers ability topromote service over suicide as the honored hero sacrifice (establish a Global

Service Academy on Governors Island where scholars & practitioners can prepareyoung people from around the world with the skills, tools, and resources needed toreturn to their communities ready to provide humanitarian aid; developmentassistance; and post-conflict reconstruction services Daniel Doctoroff can advise).

Please forgive the presumption of speaking/acting on Dr. Campbells behalf withoutexplicit approval. I lack the credibility conferred by advanced degrees or exceptionalexperience, but confidence comes from knowing that minds greater than mine share thesame concern and are working to avert nuclear terrorism from the opposite direction.Dr. Allison and Messrs. Nunn, Lugar, et al. have approached it: As a simple matter ofphysics, without fissile material, there can be no nuclear explosion. There is a vast butnot unlimited amount of it in the world, and it is within our power to keep it secure.

No fissile material, no nuclear explosion, no nuclear terrorism. It is that simple.(Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, 2004)

Unfortunately, the adage where theres a will, theres a way warns that eliminating theway is not enough; rechanneling the will is also required. To do so, the missingdimension of spirituality and myth must be added; the kernel of a modern globalnarrative must be crafted; and an alternative ritual (to Jihad) that will distribute andgerminate the kernel must be established and globalized. Time is of the essence; we areseven years behind.



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W i n d o w o f O p po r t u n i t y . . .

Your June 12th Huffington post framed the short-term future perfectly: Some timebetween November 4 and January 20, [President-elect Obama] will need to indicate anew tone in foreign policy which shows that we will once again export hope rather thanfear. This could take several forms Electing Obama will greatly help restore America'ssoft power as a nation that can recreate itself, but the election alone will not be

sufficient. It is not too soon to start thinking about symbols and policies for the daysimmediately after the election.

On the subject of symbols, Governors Island in New York Harbor is looking for a highest& best use. Its history, proximity, and restricted access make it an ideal location for aGlobal Service Academy that puts young people from around the world on a pathto service rather than martyrdom. According to Dr. Patrick Okedinachi Utomi, decadesago the precedent was set: 747s full of young people came to the US to be trained andthen returned to their homes to play the roles that they played.

And to borrow from your November 29, 2007 Huffington post:

What better institution to scale-up, coordinate, and globalize America's soft power

resources [that] lie outside of government in the private sector and civil society?What better demonstration of America's commitment to providing global public goods?

What better global icon to replace the searing images of Abu Ghraib and GuantanamoBay?

What better central premise for American foreign policy to replace the current theme of awar on terror?

What better way to change from exporting fear to inspiring optimism and hope?

As soft powers conceptual father, the only constructive outcome hinges on you: now isthe time; here is the place; these are the people (list attached); and this is the wave on

which your idea can go viral in the noosphere and fill Dr. Campbells myth vacuum beforeits too late.

With greatest respect & hope,

Christine Lederhouse

P.S. In keeping with the spirit of the projects goal, it has been about the experiencerather than the reward. Getting a Global Service Academy on Governors I sland isALL that matters! Playing a part would be an honor; but please be assured, no stringsare attached to this proposal.

Most of the last six years have been spent connecting-the-dots. The binder contains: thepicture that emerged; the formats and lists of people to whom it has been sent; and myresume. As youll see, this idea has evolved since first conceived in 2002. Also enclosedare: Dr. Campbells six-part series, The Power of Myth and partial transcripts; lists ofsuggested participants and invitees; and additional information on the missing spiritualdimension, the myth vacuum, spiritual sanctioners, noosphere/noopolitik, chaos theory,and Governors Island.



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A smart/soft power CT/COIN strategy that incorporates

Dr. Joseph Campbells work on the power of myth

in the spiritual dimension and employs chaos

theory to fill the myth vacuum in the noosphere

with a narrative that promotes service rather than suicide asthe honored hero sacrifice.

The Global Service Academy

@ Governors Island

December 25, 2008

Christine Lederhouse219 East 25th Street, Studio 5E

New York, NY 10010

[email protected]


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Power of MythMissing Spiritual DimensionMyth Vacuum

Spiritual Sanctioners

Noosphere & Noopolitik

Chaos Theory

Participant List

Invitee List

Nigeria: Case in Point/Precedent

Governors Island

Previous Attempts

Resume

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Smart/Soft Power CT/COIN/Stability Strategy -> GlobalServiceAcademy@GovernorsIsland (Part1-of-3)