Quickie: Terrorized by Colonels with PowerPoint Slides

That Rand Report that you may have heard about says that the lack of an overarching campaign plan of real interagency character inhibits development of effective organizational structures, including headquarters in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mere interagency representation is insufficient. It requires the personnel or someone with the appropriate talent, personality, and rank.

Diplomats were being terrorized by colonels asking for decisions using PowerPoint slides. “That’s why we have to have ambassadors,” they say, “because if they aren’t ambassadors, they are terrorized by colonels with PowerPoint slides.” . . . I think this [Multi-National Force–Iraq] should be an interagency headquarters as well. . . . How often do you see an Iraqi officer in our headquarters? We have plenty in their headquarters. . . . We should have one campaign plan rather than two.

Intelligence Operations and Metrics in Iraq and Afghanistan (pdf) 300 Interviews │318-page document Rand Corporation, 2008 (p.208)