How about that "smart power"

Well ... this is blunt;

President Obama has been judged to be 'chronically incapable' of conducting a coherent military strategy and 'has no sense of what he wants to do in the world', according to Oxford University professor, Sir Hew Strachan - one of the UK's most respected and senior military advisers.
...
Strachan is currently a member of the United Kingdom's Chief of Defence Staff's Strategic Advisory Panel and claims that the 'crazy' mismanagement of the Syrian crisis at the end of the summer was the worst example of the military planning in evidence since 9/11 and that at least President George W. Bush had a plan and stuck to it.

'If anything it’s gone backwards instead of forwards, Obama seems to be almost chronically incapable of doing this,' said Strachan.
'Bush may have had totally fanciful political objectives in terms of trying to fight a global War on Terror, which was inherently astrategic, but at least he had a clear sense of what he wanted to do in the world.
'Obama has no sense of what he wants to do in the world,'

Actually Hew, Obama does. As I mentioned last week, Obama wants to fundamentally transform the USA, and to do that he neither wants nor desires the distraction of foreign entanglement - much less do anything that might support the high standing of the USA military in the eyes of its citizens. No more victories. The US military needs to be humbled and shrunk so that future Presidents cannot use it very easily.

That, BTW, is a legitimate goal. I don't agree with it, but it is within the boundaries of acceptable goals. I just wish the President would be a bit more open about it.

Anyway, he doesn't understand the importance of sound strategic planning because he is not interested in it. It isn't a priority. Results speak for themselves.

I do need to point out one thing, Hew is pimp'n a book - not that there is anything wrong with that.

The verdicts reached by Strachan are published in his new book, The Direction of War: Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective, which is to be released next month.

Hew ends with a good point to ponder; when does obedience to civilian authority become obsequiousness?

'Soldiers have a duty here as well—if they just say, ‘yes Mr. Prime Minister or Mr. President, we can give you exactly what you want,’ then they’re probably not being very honest.'

A point we've been making here for awhile.