US War Decisions Rightfully Belong to Elected Civilian Leaders, Not the Military
U.S. War Decisions Rightfully Belong to Elected Civilian Leaders, Not the Military by LTG David Barno (USA Ret.), Washington Post.
The Sept. 6 commentary by retired Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales [“A war the Pentagon doesn’t want,” Washington Forum] marks a dangerous breach of the fundamental civilian-military relationship in the United States. It’s corrosive premise – that our civilian leadership is not up to the task of deciding the nation’s course in war – must be addressed before our military begins to believe that it should have the biggest say in decisions to go to war.
Scales, a military historian and former commandant of the U.S. Army War College (from which I graduated), is a powerful voice among the Army’s retired generals. His words are all the more dangerous because they carry such weight…
