HOW TO TAKE DOWN THE TERRORIST CARTELS 

A NEW LOOK TO AN OLD IDEA

In my last post, I addressed the issue of " 2nd and 3rd Oder Effects" of the President's designation commitment on the terrorist cartels. I also touched on " The Law of Unintended Consequences." Now, it's time to move past the "what if" and, " It's not the right thing to do" counter-arguments, and get into the nuts and bolts of how to make this designation actually work. It's time for action!

Step One:

This is the short and sweet part of this discussion. Identify the terrorist cartels for what they are. These groups, all of them, are Enemy Combatants! Yep, part of the terrorist designation process, but the word "enemy" has still not been used. Forget the Georgetown University or thinktank opinions for hire. The cartels and ALL of their members are Enemy Combatants of the United States; period. Put that word out there. Let everyone single one of them hear those words spoken by the President and every other federal agency that bothers to address the crisis. Let AMLO, a person who is a growing concern if anyone in DC is paying. attention, hear that definition. Let him respond. Let him disagree. Force him to choose sides. Step one; identify your enemy! 

Step Two: 

Okay. I fully realize I'm about to run smack dab into two basic reactions to what I am going to say. 

1. " OH...here goes Col Dan........... the military is the answer"! 2. " Nothing new here. We've tried that 'theory' in Central and South America and look what it got us"? As one of my superiors, long ago said to me, "noted"! Now, let me press on with my "step two." 

Full Spectrum Operations, or more commonly known in the military as FSO. There................... I said it. I'll pause while some of you spin around in your chairs for a few seconds. If you are finished, let me make my point. Full Spectrum Operations. It's the baseline behind Joint Publican 3-03 / "Joint Interdiction." Is it a military concept? Yes. Does that mean I'm advocating a military operation against the terrorist cartels? No. Are you confused? Let me see if I can clear the air. 

If I had to explain the concept of Full Spectrum Operations to a civilian, and I have, I would start the conversation along this line of thought. Any doctrine designed for the US Military has a requirement to be flexible, and by flexible, I mean it must have the ability to conform to the task at hand. If that task requires the incorporation of civilian agencies as the "lead," then that is precisely how that doctrine will read. Civilians in the "lead"? It's been done over and over again. When I was the Director of Joint Operations in Texas, this modification was the requirement. In the world of DoD's support to civilians, once known as Defense Support to Civilian Authority, civilian agency lead is the norm. 

Okay, if we are getting past the panic of thinking the military is going to classify the terrorist cartels as the "enemy," and military-style doctrine is going to be the "go-to" for dealing with these terrorist. We are ready for me to explain the modifications that will need to take place. By the way, remember when I started FSO, is the baseline of Joint Pub 3-03? Remember what the title of that joint publication is? Yep, "JOINT INTERDICTION." Has the US truly been attempting to interdict the Center of Gravity for the terrorist cartels? I know, another darn, military term, "Center of Gravity." Sorry. Look it up. You may like what you read. In my opinion, the US has played around the edges, all the while attempting to not upset our number one trade partner. We have suffered through uncoordinated, federal agency actions, with each worrying about their own rice bowl.  Folks, this terrorist movement is gaining power by the hour. Even the smallest of groups, Cells, are becoming more emboldened with each event they create. Way off course, I know.

FSO Modification:

If we assume the agreed-upon approach in interdicting terrorist cartel operations is going to be based upon the doctrine of FSO, then critical players in the task will need to be educated on just how the FSO process works. Here is the excellent news, here is where the President's designation decision makes perfect sense. Since 9-11, the number of federal and private agencies, namely Non-Governmental Organizations / NGOs / and allies involved in the "War on Terrorism" has been key to the global response.  What does that mean to this topic? Simple, the understanding of how to execute FSO by all required parties has been taking place for nearly twenty years. What US federal agencies have been involved in Iraq and Afganistan? It's hard to name one that's not been tasked in one way or another. The process of "Joint Planning,  In the Global War on Terrorism, the "Joint" concept is nearly the norm. Do rice bowls still exist? Always. As long as there is the concept of budget battles, rice bowl issues will impact the fight. It takes strong leadership and dedication to duty to keep those fights from crippling the planning and operations process. For twenty years, those rice bowl fights have not prevented the free nations of the world from taking the fight to the enemy. Yep............enemy! 

Declaring FSO as the foundation of interdicting the cartels starts the process. After that, agencies and institutions will fold into the same planning process, they've been operating under for two decades. Folks, this is not "Reinventing the Wheel." Dealing a crippling blow to the terrorist cartels is the vision the President of the United States has set out for agencies to follow. The panic over his statement is utterly unfounded. To be honest, the resistance to the President's designation is nothing more than typical party politics. If we take the tools the world has spent twenty years developing for the Global War on Terrorism, it will not deplete from that war. Yes, that's another argument that's out there, mostly supported by those who have made BILLIONS off of that war. Yep, back to the rice bowl issue. It's hard to get away from. We know how to plan in an FSO environment. We know how to operate in a joint environment. We know how to interdict any enemy out there. It's time to use this doctrinal concept to form the base of our next global war. This next global war is a war  to stop a terrorist movement that is leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people across the world. It's a war to save the nation of Mexico, our number one trading partner. It's a war to save the good people of Mexico, the US's neighbor. It's a war to prevent a much larger disaster, one larger than any action Islamic radicals can create on US soil. I'm speaking of the millions, perhaps tens of millions of good people fleeing a Civil War-torn Mexico. A Civil War that is coming if the terrorist cartels are not "interdicted." Where will those tens of millions of people head? You know the answer. Full Spectrum Operations. We know how to do execute this doctrine. We have the resources. We must now have the leadership, dedication, and, most importantly, unity to execute this plan against the enemy.