The one slight disagreement or probably better stated concern I had with it is the fact that a key component of what those outside "Think Tanks" bring to the party that that military can't or at least do to perception shouldn't.

The bully pulpit. Institutions in the civilian sector which focus on "thinking" about issues have the opportunity to bring diverse opinions to bare in the public forum not to mention the fact that they spend inordinate amounts of money sending their members to various areas in order to gather information and perspective.

Let's say that instead we stuck to uniformed thinkers doing the heavy lifting and developing strategies.

1- Where or how should they go about proselytizing what they've discerned. Won't be conferences sponsored by Think Tanks because remember we don't need them. So are we left with media appearances. If we do that how long before public perception is that their being propagandized vs informed.

I may have mis-read the paper but this was what occurred to me during my reading.