Taking the ‘M’ Out of DIME Is Always a Bad Idea
By not including military options early in the Ukraine crisis, Biden put himself in a difficult position.
Gary Anderson February 3, 2022 3 minutes read
President Joe Biden is belatedly sending 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe in response to the Ukraine crisis. With over 100,000 Russian soldiers massed on Ukraine’s eastern border, Vladimir Putin is probably not quaking in his wingtips — but at least Biden is finally considering some kind of military response after soft power proved ineffective to date.
Of the national sources of power, which include Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME) capabilities, soft power generally refers to the non-military elements.
During the Obama administration, soft power became trendy among the think tanks that have produced many of the current foreign policy officials. Innumerable seminars and workshops were conducted with tons of trees killed for reports.
The concept became less attractive when Donald Trump tried to use non-military means to further his objectives regarding Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia. He even used economic pressure in his semi-successful attempts to force some NATO members to up their fair share of dues to the alliance.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/02/03/us-ukraine-dime/
