A Vision to Match the Threat

· A corps of trained doctors, engineers, teachers, administrators and municipal workers -- some young and others retirees -- that can be deployed to countries wanting help getting their hospitals, schools, information infrastructure, utilities, courts and other institutions functioning properly. It would be a cross between the Peace Corps and nongovernmental agencies such as Doctors Without Borders that provide services around the world.

· A tough, sensible and nonideological energy policy that tackles the security problems that arise from being so dependent on foreign oil and the environmental problems caused by the emission of greenhouse gases. (Fortunately, these security and environmental needs coincide more than they conflict.)

· A clear statement of the nature of the new global challenge, who the enemy is, the strategy for winning, and what balance of commitments and resources serves our clearly defined national interests and comports with our values. This mission statement should be geared to garner long-term bipartisan support. It will be the next president's version of the Truman Doctrine, and it would be helpful if he or she would articulate it early in the campaign.

A generation from now, when the second and third drafts of the history of the post-Sept. 11 era are written, the issues of Iraq "surges" and timetables will be relegated to the footnotes. We will be judged on how we responded to the challenges. Did we match the vision of the generation that came up with NATO and the Marshall Plan and Radio Free Europe to win the Cold War? It would be nice if some candidates, instead of bickering as they look backward, give us a forward-looking vision that emphasizes the need for such creativity.

The writer is president and chief executive of theAspen Institute.