In Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates said, the military has come to embrace nontraditional roles in helping teach locals how to govern and in overseeing rebuilding efforts. Although the Pentagon should retain those skills, Gates said the military was "no replacement for civilian involvement and expertise."
Lately, Gates noted, U.S. provincial reconstruction teams have begun to bring civilian expertise to Iraqis.
"Where they are on the ground, even in small numbers, we have seen tangible and often dramatic changes," he said.
But the so-called PRTs, Gates said, were created on an ad hoc basis, and the U.S. needs to find a way to institutionalize the ability of civilian agencies to work overseas.
Gates cautioned against the urge to undo past mistakes by trying to revive agencies that have shrunk and withered. Citing the post-World War II reorganization of the U.S. defense and intelligence apparatus through the National Security Act of 1947, Gates urged a new effort to advance the government's communications and reconstruction efforts.
"New institutions are needed for the 21st century," Gates said.
julian.barnes@latimes.com
