Progressive and Pro-military
Posted by Lorelei Kelly
I had lunch with an Army friend earlier this week and, after conversing like normal people for a bit (family, pets, vacations, work) we delved into the current state of civil-military relations --this is DC after all. Like many uniformed professionals, he's fairly agnostic politically and he patiently listened to my theorizing about how defense could become a progressive issue.
One way to do this is to revitalize and re-frame civil-military relations for a post 9/11 American society. Despite the drastic changes in government and in US relationships with the rest of the globe, much of this vital public conversation languishes in a malaise of post-Vietnam hangover. It is up to progressives to create a sort of 12 step program for this dated framework. Be aware of rhetoric like "hawks and doves" or "strong or weak" and budget prescriptions of "guns versus butter". None of this shorthand is adequate in today's world and to carry forth with this language is a fast ticket to the margin of policy debate.
Conversations with military professionals who have been deployed on a post Cold War mission, Haiti through Afghanistan and Iraq--yield all kinds of insight about the fundamental policy questions dominating current discussions about US strategy: what should be the division of labor in US foreign and security policy? More specifically, what are the roles and missions of military professionals, of civilians? What models does the military provide (like the Marines expeditionary capacity, what would the civilian equivalent look like, a Peace Corps packing side arms? civ-mil teams?) All of these ideas are currently on the table in one form or another. A recent Defense Science Board report called "Transition to and From Hostilities" provides numerous ideas. Similar think tank reports and studies over the past few years have created an impressive pile of recommendations. What we need now is political will.
A retired General once said to me, the reason the military has been over-deployed as our policy tool of choice for so many years is not because its willing, its because its able. The civilians might be willing, but they are not able. This dilemma has more to it than the funding priorities of Congress. The military model, with its emphasis on manpower, planning and long-term thinking, has many characteristics that would benefit civilian agencies. Many military professionals are uncomfortable with the over-militarization of US policy of recent years and--given the appropriate opportunity--can be progressive allies simply by telling their "ground truth" story. It is a story of change for sure and, if framed carefully puts progressives squarely on the side of our citizens in uniform.
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