U.S. must stop being global policeman

WASHINGTON, April 18 (UPI) -- America needs to shift its security policy to help fragile states develop their own security capacity, says a former defense official.

"The inability of many states in the developing world to govern and police themselves effectively or to work collectively with their neighbors to secure their regions represents a global security capacity deficit that can threaten U.S. interests," reads a report this week from the Center for a New American Security.

The report, by former deputy assistant secretary of defense for resources and plans Jim Thomas, suggests that the United States needs to stop serving as the world's "first responder" to global instability. Instead, he argues, U.S. policymakers should take a more indirect approach -- focusing on preventing and alleviating conflict by helping developing nations build their own security capacity and reduce instability that way.

"Effectively addressing this security deficit will require a new approach, one that is more preventive and indirect in its nature, that seeks to husband American power, and that reconciles America's values, interests, and commitments with its finite resources over the long haul," writes Thomas.