Organizational Culture shows us how governments, corporations, associations and other organizations manage their story and proactively shape their message.  Al-Qaeda has an organizational culture just like any other entity and hey, it’s run by a guy in the construction business with a bunch of sub-contractors who deliver their trade which happens to be self-inflicted mayhem and death.

The U.S. is a squeamish organization — we don’t like to see blood and heart-breaking scenes and we don’t like to violate our values and standards by using taboo subjects (religion, race, ethnicity, gender, etc) to our advantage in an information campaign. The U.S. is tough minded when it has to be, but its organizational culture steers away from making decisions, embracing necessary change or cutting off what isn’t working.

The government has pathological difficulty in cutting off funding for what isn’t working.  That would be the “war” in Afghanistan and the “deomacratization” of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Throwing money and human beings in the form of soldiers at problems that require tougher decisions and a longer term frame of reference is how the U.S. has avoided the painful work of facing reality.  Now reality means no more money.  Perhaps, at last,  bankruptcy and debt will force prudent decisions.