Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Sentences that drive us nuts

I proposed one that is currently bothering me.

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I proposed one that is currently bothering me: “We need a grand strategy.”

My friend Peter Feaver, who slings poli sci down at Duke, countered with, “we need to reform the interagency to ensure a whole of government approach.” And indeed, others chimed in, this is, in fact, the core of competitive strategy — if it is agile, adaptive, and impactful. But it will only work if it is rapidly and globally deployable, too.

In sum, we must reform our acquisition system.

Photo credit: Iván Lara/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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