Grand Strategy - Essay Example

Introduction

A nation's Grand Strategy aims to distribute and employ its diplomatic, economic, political, and military means to an end. It is the driving force for US foreign policy. Provides the tools for planning and outlays the interests of the nation. The US is mighty and has had an aim to extend its power across the world. Though, with this power load, there are challenges to US power in general and some sectors and regions. The overall discussion aims at outlining the challenges to the US power and the strategies under them.

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Paul Miller's Grand Strategy

To begin, according to Paul Miller's Grand Strategy, the problem with Terrorism; as a result of high rates of poverty, weak, and failed states, Terrorism has a great platform and base to reside. Organized crime, drug use, and trafficking are critical threats to both regional and international order. The US has tried to counter-terror from all angles, but the numbers keep multiplying every day in vain. (Miller 171). The failed states are the significant sources of Terrorism; as much as the US tries to aid, the results are never as expected.

The rising numbers of hostile non-state groups in the entire world are one factor that raises the cost of maintaining liberal order in the world hence posing a challenge to the US, which spends billions in trying to control the affairs of the world to obtain maximum power. (Miller 171). Lastly, the growth of these hostile organizations slows down the gears of normal diplomacy and world trade. The US needs a neutral ground to exercise its rule hence affected by the trend of opposing groups.

Drug trafficking in Latin American states poses a significant challenge in the US. The flow of drugs from these nations to the States of America has a substantial impact on controlling drug use and overdose among US citizens. The fourth challenge hindering the US power is the high numbers of failed states resulting in a decline in Democracy rule, creating a platform for terror and non-state actors.

Furthermore, one lies in India; the US has been optimistic in using India to stabilize East and South Asia. It is a superpower in economic growth and democracy (Miller 190). The US has put efforts bit all in vain to improve the infrastructure, raise the farmers' spirits, and help fight the corruption in the country. The inability to take charge of India's factors is a setback to the whole world, hence a challenge to the US power.

Threat to US Power

However, nuclear autocracies is also a challenge that poses a threat to US power. (Miller 165). Dictatorship in countries like North Korea has posed a threat to US power. The testing of nuclear weapons and improvising technology can be an ignition of another world war. Additionally, excellent power rivalry poses a challenge because the developed nations have a goal to rule over the world. It comes as a rivalry course; everyone wants power, and power can't be shared.

Onwards, the military operations that do not meet their goal of fighting Terrorism is a challenge that means no political stability is obtained and a strategic plan wasted. (Miller 174). Finally, the last of the nine challenges is the expenditure incurred while planning for the strategies needed to obtain power control and maintain stability in all the nations affected by underdevelopment.

As Paul Miller explains in the grand Strategy, under the challenges to US power, the following strategies are outlined; national security strategy, economic development, stability, drug trafficking fight, retrenchment and combination strategies.

Significant Challenges

Additionally, US power faces more challenges when it comes to specific regions. The six areas are as follows; Latin America, Africa, Europe, Middle East, East Asia, and South Asia. First, the Ukraine war is the biggest crisis in Europe (Miller 207). Following the civil unrest in Ukraine, Russia was invaded to protect the native Russians after having a significant role in the fraudulent in March 2014. The fighting is between the rebels from Russia and the Ukraine state; at some point, the Russian Army joins the rebels. The other crisis still damaging Europe's US power is the long-brewing disagreement between NATO's expansion and Russia's revival, which is considered the most crucial moment in Europe (Miller 207). The confrontations taking place in the regions make it hard for the US to obtain maximum control and power to make peace and enable unity in the world.

Secondly, in East Asia, the US and China are on the verge of a clash. China has developed both in power and military sector, aiming to be as powerful as the US by taking charge of the western hemisphere (Miller 211). It has consistent diplomatic opposition to US initiatives. The second part of East Asia is Taiwan, also referred to as the Ukraine of East Asia. An anti- NATO ally. During the world war, America was involved in the liberal order. Lastly, North Korea has been the perennial candidate for America's next fight. A dictatorship that has been involved in nuclear technology and initiating wars by harassing the neighboring countries. Cases of sponsoring Terrorism and has been reported to starving half of its population. The treaty was made in 2003; the Nuclear Non-Proliferation was at least a positive step into becoming allies with the US until North Korea decided to withdraw and started testing nuclear weapons on its soil (Miller 211). These are the challenges hindering US power control in East Asia.

The third region giving the US sleepless nights is South Asia; Pakistan is the most complicated US foreign policy problem. The biggest threats in South Asia originate from this state. It has a goal to become the overall seer of the Muslim world, which led to the erection of nuclear organizations to boost the warfare to be used on fighting against India and Afghanistan (Miller 229). The moves taken by Pakistan are not of value and interest to the US. Besides, the support for militants and terrorist groups, declining to cope with the fight against the Afghan Taliban despite the US's pressure, is a setback to the US power. Lastly, in the Afghanistan state, the government is dormant for the past two decades, driven to help the nation lands into corrupt organizations with much higher control than the government. This hinders the US from employing maximum support and signing treaties that are of America's interest. Without active governance, then it poses a significant challenge to US power.

Besides, the Latin American region is not excluded from the challenges the US power faces; the global cocaine trade. The part is full of cartels and drug traffickers, mostly in Mexico, who only benefit when the state fails. Mexico gained democracy, but the rate at which crimes and violence are rising is alarming. The government has been unable I protecting the citizens from crimes sponsored by cartels in the country. The US faces gang violence, refugee flows, and humanitarian crises due to the Mexican government's inability to fight against drug gangs and cartels. Cuba and Venezuela are not left out in this Latin American region, despite being a small state with a small Army and facilities to make it a threat to the US (Miller 267). Cuba has had treaties with Soviet Russia and allowed the erection of nuclear weapons on Cuban soil to fight against the US, a move that is of no interest to the US. Venezuela; the fall of democracy in the country led to the sponsor of Latin America's illiberal movement.

Moreover, unfortunately, Africa has the east part concentrated with pirates who rule the eastern coastal region. The attack on America's ships and the world's exports via the sea is a threat to trade growth. Jihadist and the notorious Al-Shabaab groups in the eastern part of Africa (Miller 272). They rely on South Africa as it has a strongly built democracy on the continent, bears no fruits as it gives little cooperation in fighting threats in the African continent. The next is Nigeria, with a vast oil resource having shared with the north's jihadist group. Nigeria has a high rate of corruption and domestic conflicts, leading to instability in the country. The government is weak in managing internal war groups like Boko Haram. Somalia, on the other hand, is a failed state and a region for the Al-Shabaab group, which harasses the minor African countries, posing a significant threat to the establishment of total power by the US in Africa

Finally, the Middle East; Iran has had disputes with nations in the Middle East and the US. It supports terrorists and has had interests in building nuclear weapons used to attack countries. The Shia community, which is against the US, has created feuds and supported the Iranian government in disagreements with the US. The middle East is widely known for its reach oil grounds producing huge barrels exported globally, bringing in billions of profits that has ignited the idea of cutting themselves from the rest of the world and become a state of their own. To the US, it's a strategy inhibiting total power dominance course a division means great rivalry between the Middle East and the rest of the world under the reign of the US.

As reported above, every challenge comes with a strategy that involved planning. These regions are no exemption. The strategies here are; combination, defensive, growth, market development, innovation, horizontal integration, concentric diversification, and bankruptcy strategies.

Challenges to Us Power in Areas of Homeland Security

Finally, on the Us power and challenges that it faces, the deeper areas reported in this discussion from Paul Miller's grand Strategy are; homeland security, global poverty and underdevelopment, and military and international security challenges. To begin with homeland security, the US has a challenge on its borders (Miller 279). The frames with Mexico, Canada, and US ports of entry are vulnerable to invasions either from terrorists, drug traffickers, or nuclear smugglers. Immigrants' presence signifies that the borders are porous, and any illegal trafficking can creep in the state via the boundaries. Next on the missile security to protect the homeland, it is expensive and initiates other nations to venture into nuclear technology, thus creating more dangerous situations than before as atomic technology is under mass destructions. Cybersecurity, too, is part of the homeland security challenge. It is crucial as if politicized, and it can emerge to a war concept from terrorists and enemies of the state.

Under global poverty and underdevelopment, this global poverty sector's challenges arise from American policymakers (Miller 303). The food aid and USAID that ensures supply to the nations who have a treaty with the US in fighting her enemies is just a waste of the nation's resources as reviewed by the policymakers. American policymakers oppose the move, reporting that it is ineffective and a waste. The funds sent from the US to help the underdeveloped countries are made useless by the hungry corrupt look leaders. The need to comply and have a neutral ground in decision making and execution of projects to assist in providing aid has to start with the individuals receiving and transferring the same to the required departments.

Conclusion

To finish on the challenges faced on the military and international security, the government lacks a board for strategic planning, which is a critical element in ensuring that the implementations are of accuracy and developed from a sense of talented minds for secure handling (Miller 330). The committee handling strategic planning has been subjected to many strategies. The same committee is involved in not only planning but also implementing; it gets overburdened. The system still relies on the same Deputy secretaries of the defense committee.