ABD Ulusal Güvenlik Stratejisinin Küresel Uygulayıcıları: Coğrafi Muharip Komutanlıklar
The Global Agents of the United States’ National Security Strategy: The Geographical Combatant Commands

Summary/Abstract: The U.S. national security strategies from the Cold War Period to the present have shown significant changes. Especially in the period after the Cold War, the use of soft power together with hard power has gained increased importance. The practices such as pre-emptive war, unilateralism and frequent breach of international law which came into question just after 9/11 attacks have been replaced with soft power elements such as multilateralism, more diplomacy and cooperation toward the end of the 2000s. The geographical combatant commands which are the most important actors implementing U.S. national security strategy and have been operating since the early years of World War II to the present day and which are assigned the areas of responsibility in different regions of the World have adjusted to this change. Within the period of 70 years from their first establishment to the present, these commands’ headquarter structures have evolved considerably civilian-type and transformed to the inter-department/inter-agency structure. The missions of the commands have also changed and the different functions such as humanitarian aid, cooperation, dialogue, public diplomacy and strategic communication rather than classical military functions like war planning have gained importance. These changes have ensured the geographical combatant commands to continue their effectiveness in the 21st century. There are some critics and recommendations on the ground that the military commands are so efficient on the U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War period, and some civilian structures should be set up to carry out the same tasks. However, the U.S. decision-makers have so far preferred the great advantages provided by the principles of the unity of command, the simplicity of management, the economy of resources and the unity of effort to the ambiguous benefits of civilian appearance. Thus, the geographical combatant commands have existed as the major agents of the U.S. national security strategies.

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