Dispatches for a Wednesday Night

The trio of images that introduce the reads for this week, provide a hint of what is to come; Marines building a nation one family at at time; an empty library; and Queen Elizabeth I, who died four hundred and seven year ago today.

Mid-week brings forth this small but worthwhile selection of posts that deserve a careful read. First off is this from Steve DeAngelis, whose blog should be on everyones daily read list.

Steve's post expands on the message that his collegue and fellow blog friend Thomas Barnett has been evangelical about for a decade.

Because of Enterra Solutions' continuing interest in helping develop economies in emerging market countries, I have written a number of posts that have discussed the System Administrator concept proposed by my colleague Thomas Barnett. Tom has long argued that the U.S. is second-to-none when it comes to winning wars; but it has demonstrated much less acumen when it comes to securing the peace. The SysAdmin force (as Tom likes to call it) is envisioned as an interagency organization that brings to bear all of the nation's toolkit (from force to diplomacy to economics) to either prevent conflicts or secure the peace in the aftermath of conflict. The SysAdmin force would have a security component but it would primarily consist of non-military personnel conducting non-military activities. When Tom first proposed this concept, there were more snickers than cheers. Over time, however, the concept has become increasingly embraced by military, government, non-government, and commercial organizations.

Steve builds on current events and topics that this blog has recently written about, to present a clear proof that someone inside the halls of the Pentagon has taken Tom's message to heart. One of the great things I enjoy about Steve's blog posts is that they build on ideas and use articles to build a concrete argument supporting the topic. Take the time and read about the new version of what could be described as a post "Combat Town" outside of Indianapolis, or what major defense contractor has gone full bore into the "soft power" business.

Read more:
Nation Buiidling Approaches Continue to Evolve

Next Mark at Zenpundit get this nod for this focus on disappearing school libraries.
Education,Books and the Digital Age

Rounding out the night, a little history from the U.S. Naval Institute Blog.

Four-hundred seven years ago on this day, March 24th, 1603, Queen Elizabeth I breathed her last. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and the unfortunate Ann Boleyn, and when Good Queen Bess died, the relatively brief but celebrated Tudor Dynasty died with her. Yet, Elizabeth I’s significance in the shaping of the England, and the Great Britain that followed, is difficult to overstate.

Read more:
Englands First Queen of the Seas