Holding The U.S. Military Accountable

Wow..the Diane Rehm show tonight's segment on

how our military/politicians,U.S. Public interact

was one of the most thought provoking and

bluntly overwhelming of any of her shows I have

heard.

One fact that shows you how naive I am: I

thought the days the four major branches of the

military just furthered their own agendas ,

uncoordinated, ( everything from weapons

development to teaching recruits how to brush

their teeth with videos etc.) had been helped a

long time ago ( it was one of the major

recommendations of the famous Grace

Commission).

And the F-35 fiasco-- cost a hundred times more

than Solyndra flop at solar power, but everyone

knows about Solyndra and how many people

have a clue about the F-35?

And Presidents still get the generals they want:

For instance, back in 1962 a General Decker

said very loudly that going into a land war in

Asia was lunacy. McNamara told this to

President Kennedy, whose response was "Well,

get rid of him, then."

And unlike Bush, for instance, Kennedy was a

seasoned veteran of War himself and knew what

wars involved and how goals must be targeted to

be realistic. ( Bush got rid of anyone who

thought we were making a mistake going into

Iraq with no long term agreed upon plan. And he

had:

Colin Powell, who said, " It doesn't matter how

I feel, I serve the President,"--& was of course

absolutely wrong in his philosophy but the media

never dared point that out.

But Kennedy made the mistake of thinking we

were fighting World War II again...We are never

going to fight World War II again and have a

draft and immense public involvement like that.

(We have a small, well trained and well armed

military now that we all "support"-- but we win

Battles and Lose Wars.)

Most provocative show in ages..

How do we deal with this trillion dollar a year

military complex (when you factor in ALL the

costs)

And someone like Bernie Sanders says " This is

all stupid, but if we are going to do it, I want a lot

of money spent in Burlington, Vermont."

Listen

Holding The U.S. Military Accountable

A US Army carry team moves a transfer case during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, on December 16, 2014 in Dover, Delaware. MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES

America has been at war for the last 13 years, the longest period of warfare in American history. Since 2002, around 2.5 million men and women have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, which is about three quarters of 1 percent of the U.S. population. Many Americans are quick to say they respect the sacrifice our soldiers are making, but most have no real contact or interest in the military. In a cover story for Atlantic Magazine, journalist Jim Fallows argues that this disconnect has led to careless spending, strategic errors and endless wars we can’t win. Please join us for debate over holding our military accountable.

Guests

James Fallows national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine.
Col. Douglas Macgregor U.S. Army-Retired, executive VP of Burke-Macgregor Group LLC, a defense and foreign policy consulting, author of five books including "Warrior's Rage"
Ambassador James Jeffrey the Philip Solondz distinguished visiting fellow at The Washington Institute; former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey.