Continual surprises show the impossibility of predicting major events. International terrorism is a particularly treacherous area that calls for agile planning and flexible response. There is neither the manpower nor the treasure nor the moral expedient to move outside troops into every country that could serve as a terrorist haven, so those countries that receive such long-term commitments must be selected carefully. Yet other countries still pose substantial danger to the world order, and ways must be developed to prevent them from hosting al Qaeda and similar organizations. A partial solution is establishing strategic bases in contested locations to carry out sanctions or take other steps selectively and effectively. Additionally, NATO should be clear about its objectives. The Alliance should, for instance, make it well known that it has no interest in remaining in Afghanistan beyond ensuring that the country is never again complicit in attacks launched from its soil.

Afghanistan’s senior leaders seem more intent on making deals than solving problems. No amount of coalition spending will give the country the leadership it needs to unite the people in building the nation. Yet Gandhi persuaded India’s Hindus and Muslims to join in efforts that brought independence from Great Britain, and courageous, visionary, and especially ethical leadership can do the same in Afghanistan. Those who can rally their publics to embrace a shared vision are known here as transformational leaders, and while it will not be a quick process producing them, it is possible through a patient coalition effort to train promising individuals to represent a more viable and trusted source of leadership than the Taliban. Nine steps can establish a transformational leader production line. Failing that, matters will probably revert to the status quo when the coalition leaves. The same dynamics apply to failed and failing states everywhere.

Navigators for generations have been trained to use a sextant to keep track of where their ship or aircraft is in relation to celestial objects. Used in large aircraft in the U.S. Air Force such as bombers, tankers, and transports long before the advent of global positioning satellites, these tools had a small bubble of gas that indicated to the operator that his instrument was properly aligned. Important to the angles being calculated, if this bubble disappeared from view, the navigator would know his sighting would be inaccurate, or more simply he was said to have "lost the bubble." This phrase has crept into common usage among military personnel from all Services, which is one indication of the depth that jointness has achieved.