Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

It’s only been 14 years, but how easily we can forget: the events of 9/11 – September 11, 2001 – and the economic/security implications on North America … and the rest of the world, the Caribbean included. The economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks were an initial shock causing global recessions and dropping the world’s stock markets sharply; (see photo here).

Unfortunately, the entire Caribbean eco-system functions as a parasite to the American host. In Biology, when the host ails, the parasite “dies”; this poetically describes the Caribbean socio-economic dispositions, post-9/11. All in all, the consequences to the Caribbean were dire!

What have we learned? Can we do better going forward?

There is now a new plan to impact the Caribbean economy, in a positive way! We are now counting on this success. The assertion in the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 23) is that with the emergence of new economic engines, “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. The book relates that this is a historical fact, that is bound to be repeated again and again.

When one group prospers, especially if some perceive that there is some exploitation of others in the process, the resultant animosity creates threats to homeland security. This is the reality in the United States and is expected to materialize in the Caribbean, as a direct product of elevation of this region’s societal engines.

This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x.   Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The US has experienced a long list of terrorist attacks from both foreign and domestic sources. As a result, the country’s homeland security forces have to always be “on guard”, on alert for real or perceived threats.

Being “on guard” to protect the American homeland means proactively seeking out those with bad intent, by “hook or by crook”:

VIDEO: FBI: U.S. National Guard soldier tried to join ISIS – http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/fbi-u-s-national-guard-soldier-tried-to-join-isis/

March 26, 2015 – Hasan Edmonds, a member of the Illinois National Guard, and his cousin, Jonas, are charged with supporting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The two were arrested after their alleged plot for a massacre was uncovered. David Martin reports. (VIDEO plays best in Internet Explorer).

It is important to reflect that the US has been consistently under attack.

We all know of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, but terrorist attacks are actually more common in the US than one might think, or remember. Consider here, these recorded terrorist attacks in the US for this decade alone, since 2010:

The United States Homeland Security Forces have their hands full. They obviously have real threats to mitigate and remediate. For most of the Caribbean, we are allied with the US. So their enemies might very well become our enemies. Therefore the book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. So the request is that all Caribbean member-states form and empower a security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories.

The Go Lean…Caribbean vision is to confederate under a unified entity made up of the Caribbean to provide homeland security to the Caribbean. But Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our American counterparts. Yes, we must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism and piracy, we mostly have to contend with threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, and crime remediation and mitigation. The CU security goal is for public safety! This goal is detailed in the book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, and also the security dynamics of the region, since these are inextricably linked to this same endeavor. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety includes many of the same strategies, tactics and implementations employed by US forces in the foregoing VIDEO. We too must use “hook and crook”, plus advanced Intelligence Gathering & Analysis, to draw out and interdict “bad actors” that emerge in the Caribbean region. The Go Lean roadmap calls for the designated  Intelligence Agency to provide Unified Command and Control for the Caribbean anti-crime and defense efforts. This will include a permanent professional military force with naval and ground (Marine) forces.

This security pact would be sanctioned by all 30 CU member-states as a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate the security forces, encapsulating all the existing armed forces (full-time or part-time/reserves) in the region. This CU Homeland Security Force would get its legal authorization from a SOFA embedded at the CU treaty initiation.

This Security Apparatus is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, covering the approach for adequate funding, accountability and control. The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Other subjects related to security and governing empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentary, as sampled here:

The foregoing VIDEO relates to a Military Reservist; this population is especially troublesome for community peace assurances as these ones are trained killers. Plus with disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the afflicted may be dealing with mental and emotional crises.

Underlying to the prime directive of elevating the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean, is the desire to make the Caribbean homeland safer, a better place to live, work and play. We must be prepared for the “bad actors”, to dissuade their disrupting the peace of all Caribbean residents (42 million people) or the 80 million tourists that visit the region annually.

All of the Caribbean people and institutions are hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap. Yes, we can – we must – do better!   🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!