John Robb thinks that Kerry lost this first debate, given that all Bush needed to do was hold Kerry to “tactical victories,” but he also provides much needed context for Kerry’s “global test” remark. At the time, I thought Kerry was just foolishly playing into right-wing paranoia about new world orders. It turns out that, according to Robb, he’s referencing part of Col. John Boyd’s “grand strategy” concept, the moral connectivity vector:
A key test of moral connectivity is proper conduct within alliances. If a member of an alliance takes independent action that puts the other alliance members at risk, it needs to have a strong moral justification for that action. If it fails that test, the alliance will melt away, and the independent actor will become isolated.
The post points to a fascinating article on Boyd’s strategic thought at Global Guerrillas. Thought provoking.