Fighting the Hobbesian Trinity in Colombia: A New Strategy for Peace
Authored by Colonel Joseph R. Nunez.
April 01, 2001
52 Pages
Brief Synopsis
The author analyzes the drug intervention conundrum of Colombia. He then summarizes the reasons for the violent and anarchic situation that frustrates those wishing to make peace and expand democracy. After introducing what he calls the Hobbesian trinity, the author discusses alternatives to intervention and notes the complexity of the human rights challenge. He suggests a new strategy for improving human security, government accountability, democratic reform, and peace prospects. The author argues that the current approach is heading the wrong way, moving away from peace and fomenting greater instability. He concludes that there is a window of opportunity for the United States to support Colombia in a new way in its war against this anarchic trinity. But this will involve overcoming political factions responsible for the current policy that he argues is ineffective.
Foreword
This ambitious monograph by Colonel Joseph Nuñez is a cogent response to the question of “What are the strategic and operational imperatives for the U.S. military in the implementation of Plan Colombia?” In it he develops the necessary background to make the argument that it is time for the United States to get rid of its Vietnam ghosts, and for Colombia to generate a viable political-military strategy to attain security, stability, democratic governance, and a sustainable peace. Together, both countries can make a major contribution to the well-being of the entire Western Hemisphere.
Lacking representation, opportunity, and a true civil society, a Hobbesian monster has emerged to address the thin veneer of Colombian democracy, a paucity of economic progress, and the virtual nonexistence of personal and collective security throughout the country. The Hobbesian trinity, of course, includes the insurgents, the paramilitaries, and the illegal drug traffickers. These forces represent the worst passions of humanity—violence, greed, corruption, anarchy, and intimidation—and are not confined within the borders of Colombia. The spillover effects of these forces into neighboring countries is creating a regional threat to stability, democracy, and peace.
Colonel Nuñez argues that the United States can help the Colombians defeat this unholy trinity, but the only way to implement the enabling political, economic, and social components of Plan Colombia is to establish control of the national territory and the people in it. Moreover, the only way to defeat the forces of corruption, disintegration, degradation, and violence is to establish security throughout the national territory, progressively. A new Colombia must be created one municipality at a time. That, in turn, will require a voluntary constabulary force trained, equipped, and controlled by the government—something very different from past self-defense initiatives—that can rebuild a sense of personal security under the rule of law.
All this is ambitious, indeed. It will be difficult, time consuming, and require strong resolve. But it can and must be done. It can be done by rethinking the threat and response. It must be done as a result of deliberate, cooperative, long-term, holistic, and strategic-level ends, ways, and means planning to achieve a mutually beneficial political end-state. The mission of the U.S. military, and the Army in particular, is to assist Colombia in professionalizing and modernizing its officer corps and general staff to the point where they can train, equip, and utilize their own regular and constabulary forces to directly contribute to the achievement of the stable, democratic, and peaceful end-state. Impressively, this can be done without increasing U.S. presence or influence.
The Dante B. Fascell North-South Center of the University of Miami is pleased to join with the Strategic Studies Institute in offering this monograph to help inform the national security debate on what is to do be done in Colombia. It is of critical importance to this country, Colombia, and to the hemisphere.
Access Full Report [PDF]: Fighting the Hobbesian Trinity in Colombia: A New Strategy for Peace
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
