I have read a lot lately about the incompetence of the Army in fighting the Iraq war and, of course, the plan to escalate the war through Bush's new AEI policy to be announced this week. The question which has continued to come up is how did we get into this situation in the first place? We went from a country which was against huge standing armies, thought of military action as a last resort and professed to believe we would never start a preemptive or preventative war to a Country which now is armed at the teeth and believes the world is ours to dominate as we see fit. How did this happen? When did we change? Why did we change?
The New American Militarism, How Americans are Seduced by War, by Andrew Bacevich helps answer this. Written by a retired COL and now history professor at Boston University, he outlines the sometimes perverse sequence of events which have got us to this point. Between the alignment of the military with the evangelical right, the growth of military incursions during Reagan years and the beginning of it all, the Carter Doctrine (Yes, surprising that Carter started this with his own words when he said: "An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America and as such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force" - State of the Union Address, January 21, 1980), America has been on a collision course with our current militaristic posture for almost 50 years.
Bacevich outlines ten steps to get the Country's militaristic posture back in balance. These steps are:
- Heed the intentions of the Founders - He says it best about the Constitution: "Nothing in that compact, as originally ratified or as subsequently amended, commits or even encourages the United States to employ military power to save the rest of mankind o remake the world in its own image nor even hints at any such purpose or obligation". Stop treating this document as a "dead letter" from dead people and elevate it to its primacy as intended.
- Revitalize the concept of separation of powers - Article I, section 8, Clause II puts the power to declare war in Congress's hands. What has happened more often recently is that Congress abdicates this authority by basically telling the President, "Do what you want to do, including force". REQUIRE CONGRESS to either declare war or not.
- View force as a last resort - This means the idea of a preventative or preemptive war is dead and we must state so.
- Enhance U.S. Strategic self-sufficiency - especially when it comes to oil. Imagine if we had put $400bl into alternative energies rather than fight the Iraq war starting in 2003. We would have made the Arab Countries all but irrelevant by now. Instead we chose to fight for the status quo which leaves us in a position of constantly fighting. John Kerry said it right, now the Dems have to deliver, when he said, "No young American in uniform should ever be held hostage to America's dependence on oil in the Middle East".
- Organize U.S. Forces explicitly for national defense - Focus on defense rather than force projection. Think of all the bases we have around the world in far off lands? Do we really need bases in Europe any more? Turn the defense of Europe over to the Europeans and let the leader of NATO be someone other than an American.
- Devise an appropriate gauge for determining the level of U.S. defense spending. - How much is enough? He has some ideas and indices to look at.
- Enhance alternative instruments of statecraft - The US State Department is a joke. They have been swept aside by the militaristic posture of the U.S. At the beginning of the Iraq war, it was tough to find people who even spoke the language let alone understood the culture. With all the lies and incorrect statements made leading up to the Iraqi war, our credibility is in shambles. We must fix this.
- Revive the moribund concept of the citizen-soldier. - As I have written many times, and it seems Bacevich agrees, the soldiers of this Country are far removed from society. They believe they are better than the average citizenry and they do not understand the Country they are defending. They even live in conclaves called "forts" which serve absolutely no purpose anymore (A holdover from outposts fighting Native Americans?). We do not have an "All Volunteer Force", rather we currently pay pretty handsomely for their services. It currently is far more mercenary than it is "citizen soldier".
- Reexamine the role of the National Guard and the reserve components - They should revert to their original purpose. Especially the National Guard which is homeland security, not force projection.
- Reconcile the American military profession to the American Society. - Bacevich recommends that all officers are required to get their
bachelor degrees from civilian colleges. Why do we have special
colleges which isolate these people (i.e., West Point and Annapolis)?
It is a holdover from times gone past and now their existence actually
hurts us rather than helps us.
While I am sure this plan will need some changing and debate, it at least gives us a framework to start with. It also accepts the fact that this militaristic nature of America is bigger than one man. We did not move 100% of the way here just with the election of George Bush; heck as you have seen from above, Jimmy Carter of all people may be the one who started it.
This has been a long time coming and will take some sophistication and agility in correcting it. Let's hope the Democrats are up to the task!
NOTE: This was originally posted at my Blog The Command T.O.C.