Shortly after the Pentagon revealed a new directive that labels stability operations as a “core US military mission,” President Bush formally appointed the Secretary of State as the lead authority on efforts to rebuild and stabilize nations after conflicts or during civil strife. The White House announcement says State will coordinate stability ops with Defense when US military operations are planned or ongoing. The DOD directive states that the US military will give stability ops “priority comparable to combat operations.” Neither action should come as a big surprise.
Creating a new military service to wage war in the cyber domain would take too long, risk creating a top-heavy bureaucracy, and create confusion about the defense of other services’ IT networks, two former leaders of U.S. Cyber Command told a congressionally chartered research committee looking into the question.
