Late 2003, Donald Rumsfeld started a discussion on his proposal to increase US military force capability by what he termed "a total force". This total force would be a beef up reinforcement using reserve and guard commands to back up regular combat troops on conflict deployments. However, the term was expanded in 2005 when Blackwater security got in trouble in Iraq over some indiscriminate acts of crime against citizens. To absolve Blackwater from accusations of war crime, Rumsfeld declared that they were part of his "total force" and therefore legally covered under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) of the US military. The interpretation here is that a civilian outfit that ordinarily in time of peace is not part of a professional armed service can be conscripted or contracted during conflict of war and then armed and deployed as a supplementary to the regular force against the enemy.

The interpretation carries weight. Using Pakistan as example and applying this principle of "total force", it means Taliban and the elements of the autonomous tribal areas are potential "total force" that Pakistan could draw on to combat a foreign enemy. This potential dwarfs any argument that proposes wiping out the autonomous areas as a safe option for the security of sovereign Pakistan but indeed makes the protectorates a desirable keepsake in the long term.

By similar weight, if Nigerians know what is good, the Minister of Defense ought to initiate discussions on a balanced relationship with the fierce combatants in MEND. Their presence serves a deterrent but in all likelihood of a war with a neighbouring army, they become a "total force" component.

It is a common knowledge that people with differences will join forces if faced with a common enemy. It is a common logic, only that he used a "catchy phrase" to describe it. In fact, it is an old age concept in the Art of War - My enemy's enemy is my friend.

There's difference between common knowledge and a governmental policy statement. It is commonly logical and acceptable that torture is unethical and immoral, however it became law in US. While common knowledge and logical responsibility demands that one should defend the motherland against any form of foreign aggression (physical, ideological, philosophical, economical, ) it is shameful that no African nation practices on this principle of common knowledge.