http://www.cfr.org/p...y_march_2010.html

The US military has been about much more than "killing people and breaking stuff" since at least the Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949. No other organization can move thousands of tons of equipment and supplies, and experts, into a disaster region as quickly and in a sustained way. (And yes, they still are slower than they should be.) Haiti would be much worse off without their efforts.

Mullen's arguing for a much more nuanced approach than the Powell Doctrine and what happened under Rumsfeld, one that involves State and other civilian agencies much more than DOD.

The world has changed since 1945, and having a military designed for tank battles or sinking battleships isn't effective. In a world where 100M AK-47s and cheap IEDs are ubiquitous, no standing army alone can defeat the potential threat. There is no "battlefield" any more. Our military cannot "win" over the long term by "killing people and breaking stuff" - it has to change hearts and minds and that means doing much more than sending in the Marines or a squadron of stealth bombers to enforce our national interests. Mullen understands that.

Cheers,
Scott.