The Tragedy Of The American Military -- James Fallows, The Atlantic
The American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can’t win.
In mid-September, while President Obama was fending off complaints that he should have done more, done less, or done something different about the overlapping crises in Iraq and Syria, he traveled to Central Command headquarters, at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. There he addressed some of the men and women who would implement whatever the U.S. military strategy turned out to be.
The part of the speech intended to get coverage was Obama’s rationale for reengaging the United States in Iraq, more than a decade after it first invaded and following the long and painful effort to extricate itself. This was big enough news that many cable channels covered the speech live. I watched it on an overhead TV while I sat waiting for a flight at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. When Obama got to the section of his speech announcing whether he planned to commit U.S. troops in Iraq (at the time, he didn’t), I noticed that many people in the terminal shifted their attention briefly to the TV. As soon as that was over, they went back to their smartphones and their laptops and their Cinnabons as the president droned on.
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My Comment: A long commentary and analysis .... and if you have 20 minutes .... it is worth the read.
4 comments:
WNU,
I part company with you on this one. I don't agree with this article almost in it's entirety.
I did not say that I agreed with it .... just that it is worth a read. The loss of control of the defense budget and the fact that many Americans are now weary of the constant wars .... I can understand that. The rest of the article .... especially the last paragraph where he states that since President Obama is doing other things we should then all step up .... I find it a bit strange.
But such is the state of discussion involving America's military and it's role in the world today .... and why absent any leadership from Washington .... the debate is now confusing, disorienting, and in the end .... accomplishing nothing but wasting lives and treasure in conflicts that maybe ... just maybe .... the U.S. should not be involved in.
WNU,
My apologies. These articles are a little like golf in that usually I'm pretty cranky after I've read them and don't pay as much attention as I should to the comments of others.
No need to apologize. We are the lucky ones. We play golf and enjoy the company of family and friends and debate things that we agree on and/or disagree on .... and then we move on. There are many in the world who view such simple things as luxuries.
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