By James Rogan, former U.S. foreign service officer
The United States must have general officers and admirals who are warriors, independent thinkers, and decisive leaders. The U.S. is not well served by having bureaucratic sycophants in these positions.
For the first time since the conclusion of World War II , the U.S. faces an adversary that possesses a number of clear military advantages. China is a formidable adversary. The U.S. would be hard-pressed to prevent China from taking Taiwan by force.
The U.S. also faces national security threats from Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
The military needs charismatic leaders, not Pentagon desk jockeys who are “yes” men and women.
Generals and admirals must be promoted because they are smart leaders, not wannabe progressive sociologists.
The current U.S. military leadership supports military programs which push the ideologically leftist diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda. This ideology is divisive, and has more to do with leftist ideology than it does race.
As the senior officer in the military, Milley did nothing to stop the military academies from teaching critical race theory.
That theory asserts that racism is systemic in U.S. society. That theory is a lie. Racism is real and it is terrible. But critical race theory and DEI efforts are not the answer to the problem. Discipline and good leadership are the answers.
The Vietnam War is a textbook case of what happens when the national security apparatus, including the military, tells the president what he wants to hear.
President Lyndon Johnson did not want history to say that he had lost the Vietnam War. U.S. military leaders told Johnson what he wanted to hear. They told him that the war could be won. The 1968 Tet Offensive revealed the truth. The U.S. could not win the war in Vietnam without invading and destroying the nation-state of North Vietnam. And that would be a step too far for Americans. The Vietnam War was a fiasco.
Throughout history, great military leaders have been able to win battles and wars even when confronted with an enemy possessing superior forces.
At the Battle of Cannae in 216 B.C., the Carthaginian general Hannibal, with significantly fewer soldiers, destroyed a Roman army that confronted his forces. Hannibal used geography, a narrow valley, and weather. Most of all, he used discipline and trust to suck the Romans into a death trap.
Though progressives would have us rid him from our memory, the tactics of Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army of Virginia, offer valuable lessons on how to wage war against superior forces. Lee seized the initiative against the U.S. Army of the Potomac. Lee knew the weaknesses of his opponents. For almost three years, Lee, with fewer soldiers and limited military resources, kept the military forces of the North at bay.
Similarly, at the pivotal 1942 Battle of Midway, the clearly outnumbered U.S. naval fleet under the command of Adm. Raymond Spruance inflicted a devastating defeat on the main battle fleet of the Japanese Empire. Spruance had the advantage of superior intelligence and the will of U.S. naval aviators to accept heavy casualties yet deliver killing blows to the aircraft carriers of the Japanese navy.
The country needs similarly innovative military leaders today, warriors able to seize the strategic initiative against China and other enemies. Not woke aficionados.
James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes a daily note on finance and the economy, politics, sociology, and criminal justice.
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