General: terror war the 'long haul'

British General Sir Michael Rose warned that future business leaders will be "responsible for the war against global terrorism."

Speaking to an MBA-heavy student audience of about 200 on Thursday, the former United Nations Protection Force commander in Bosnia-Herzegovina discussed the implications of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as his earlier experiences in the Balkans, drawing lessons for the business world.

"Trade has always followed the flag," Rose said. He added that peacekeepers create the stability that businesses need to prosper.

Rose stressed how Sept. 11 and the War on Terrorism required new war-fighting and business success strategies.

"There is no decisive victory. There is no exit strategy. There is the long haul," he said. Rose argued that domestically, civil liberties "will have to be, in some places, limited" to fight terror.

Internationally, the U.S. got off to an "extremely good start" in Afghanistan, but failed to follow up with adequate assistance, according to Rose. He further argued that attacking Iraq unilaterally without clear evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction would "further alienate the Muslim world."

"As long as [Arab governments] believe the U.S. is being uneven-handed" in attacking Iraq without addressing the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Rose said, Arab governments would be unwilling to fully cooperate in the War on Terrorism.

Similarly, Rose said he believes that businesses need precautions, contingency and recovery plans to deter attacks. "If you fail in your duty of care," Rose warned, "then you will be personally liable."

Reflecting on his leadership experiences while peacekeeping in the Balkans, Rose claimed that "to make this world better for our children," business and military leaders "have to put in place the right strategies."

According to Rose, business, like military success requires a "campaign plan" and "specific orders" that produce "coherence about the mission."

Leaders need to motivate their subordinates "to believe passionately in what they do," Rose said. Rose also castigated leadership failure at embattled corporations including Enron and WorldCom.

"The leadership in those companies suffered from hubris," he said. "They didn't care about their own employees or indeed their own shareholders."

Reacting to the talk, which was part of the Wharton Leadership Lectures series, second-year MBA student Angela Roe said it was "interesting to see the parallels between business leadership and military leadership."

Noting the Wharton curriculum had not changed appreciably in response to Sept. 11, she said, "I'd personally like to see more non-business leaders that address international relations, because we really don't have that focus in the MBA program."

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