General Martin Dempsey And An Apolitical Military

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General Martin Dempsey And An Apolitical Military

 

By: streiff (Diary) | August 31st at 02:00 PM | 13

It is hard for an institution composed of men prone to action and solving problems, imbued with discipline, and need I say heavily armed, to stand by and watch politicians ruin the country they are sworn to defend. Few armies have been immune from the urge. Even the British Army, from which our military draws a lot of its traditions, has succumbed to the temptation. In other counties, pick a random Latin American country, for instance, military coups have nearly become national traditions.

One of the hallmarks of the United States military that distinguishes it from virtually all the militaries in the world is that it has historically been a loyal servant of the government elected by the American people. We should all be thankful that our military, even during really bad situations (for instance, 1862, 1951, 1968), always refrained from setting its own course. Of course, there have been people who urged the military to do just that for their own political amusement.

Back in 2005, David Ignatius wrote a column in which he encouraged general officers to “push back” against the Bush administration. After Obama was elected I acquired some