Brigadier,
The "Ugly American" suggests why and how our foreign policy development and implementation must change.
I'd suggest reading another great late '50s novel to learn why it won't-ever. "Advise and Consent" by Allen Drury.
What's self-evident on the ground in X-stan becomes lost in the noise of Washington, D.C. upon arrival. More accurately, the message is usually D.O.A (dead-on-arrival) once in the hands of the politicians and "practiced-at-the-art-of-deception" bueraucrats.
I'm being a tad cryptic but it bears little fruit to engage in specifics on a topic this large. We're better served by sweeping generalizations.
