SENTINEL WATCH September 10, 2007 Issue

NEW MODELS FOR POWER

JONI OVERTON-JUNG

ADMIRAL JAMES STAVRIDIS, the current head of US Southern Command, aims to influence countries with ideas, rather than military might. According to The Christian Science Monitor, Stavridis has observed "a sea change"—a move from an emphasis on launching "global crusades to more restrained and humble [policymaking] " ("A US Military Leader on Holding Fire," July 3, 2007).

The Monitor article relates a wartime situation in which Stavridis had a quick decision to make: fire a missile, or wait and see. It was during the "tanker war" of the 1980s between Iran and Iraq—an Iranian aircraft was flying closer and closer to Stavridis's cruiser. Ultimately he chose to wait. The pilot flew away. "The incident comes back to me at times because," Stavridis says, "it tells you that, in the world we live in, it's good to hold back on the key sometimes."

This made me think of the British response to Iran's arrest of British sailors this past April. Many disagreed with Britain's insistence on diplomatice negotiations, and perhaps still do. Given the escalating tensions in that region of the world, it was a potentially explosive situation. Yet in the end everyone got to save face when the sailors were released unharmed (The Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2007). This experience points to the demand and possibility for solutions to benefit everyone, everywhere.

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