Are U.S. Military Leaders Too Cautious?

The Real Scandal Of Benghazi Is The Plodding Caution Of U.S. Military Leaders -- Bing West, Best Defense /Foreign Policy

Re Benghazi and the military (a matter of much lesser import than the deceptive talking points): On ABC on 12 May, George Will and retired General Cartwright excused the military by saying 10 hours was not enough time to react. The general said it takes up to "a day or two" to arm an F-16, file flight plans, arrange for refueling, etc.

Therefore the solution is to pre-stage the right kinds of forces, which requires a much larger military and a knowledge beforehand about the location and severity of the threat. By this reasoning, we do not have general purpose forces; we have special purpose forces.

Benghazi thus raises the question: Do we need more forces staged around the world or do we need senior officers who can respond to emergencies outside their normal checklists?

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My Comment: Kudos to Thomas E. Ricks for having Bing West as a guest commentator. As to his analysis .... Bing West is on the money.