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Subject:
Inexperienced Commander-in-Chief(s)
MattZone
5/20/2006 12:26:48 AM
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Note: This is not a partisan post.
Having studied history, more or less, and looking at the current state of the world, it seems to me that the single most important lesson that we Americans (in particular) and the rest of the world (in general) have not learned is the value of having political leadership that knows how to effectively lead the military. There are countless historical examples of the elected civilian leaders of a country dooming their military endeavors to failure, or at best (given extremely capable subordinates), a tainted success.
Why is this? I've made a list of a few of the most probable possibilities that I can think of, feel free to add to it...
1. Voters are more concerned with domestic politics and the economy.
2. Civilian officeholders have the attitude "let's leave it to the professionals" so they remain ignorant (to one degree or another) of the military.
3. Civilian officeholders have received little or no military training and education (service isn't the only source of this).
Let's examine these possibilities.
First, there is the fact that the voting public, as a whole, do not concern themselves too much with a candidates military expertise (or lack thereof) until there is a crisis. Example: Winston Churchill did not become Prime Minister until everything had gone to Hades in a handbasket. Up until the crisis point, the political truism "People vote their pocketbooks" determines how people vote. To me, this seems insane, especially if we define insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. As voters, we have to consider a candidates military expertise (or lack thereof) to be the single most important consideration when determining who to vote for.
This brings me to the second issue: officeholders who feel that they should leave running the military and the war up to the professionals. To me, this is nothing less than an abdication of responsibility. The President of the United States is by law the Commander-in-Chief of its Armed Forces. The oath that members of Congress swear states:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
That is their first and single most important responsibility. It is their duty to know how to use the military wisely. Voters should not settle for anything less.
The final issue is what happens once someone is elected to office? I know that new members of Congress take classes on the basics of the job. What is their military education, if any? What is a new Presidents? Whatever it is, given the current situation, the curriculum needs to be revised. Ignorance is a costly indulgence when the price for it is paid in blood.
Note: I've done my best to keep this post non-partisan. Please respect that, and try not to make assumptions about my political biases. I can almost guarantee that those assumptions will be wrong.
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