Lawrence Korb is far more qualified than I am to discuss the ins and outs of military advice given to presidents of the United States.
He did so during the Reagan administration and he’s now suggesting something quite interesting to the current commander in chief, Barack Obama.
It’s that it’s all right to “ignore” the advice of military leaders at times of international crisis.
http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2014/09/why-its-ok-obama-ignore-military-advice/94649/
Korb understands a fundamental truth about U.S. government. Civilians run the military. It’s written into the Constitution and that’s the way it should be.
It’s interesting to me, though, that Korb cites several examples of presidents ignoring the advice of top military leaders:
* Harry Truman dismissed Gen. Douglas MacArthur after the U.S. military commander popped off and said U.N. forces should take the fight to China.
* Dwight Eisenhower ignored the advice of commanders who wanted the United States to get involved in Vietnam while the French were fighting for their lives at Dien Bien Phu.
* John F. Kennedy said “no” to calls to strike at Cuba during the missile crisis.
What do these presidents have in common? They all were combat veterans.
Barack Obama doesn’t have that kind of background on which to rely. I’m not saying it’s a requirement for the office, but it serves as a cautionary tale for a president who chooses to ignore the advice of individuals who’ve worn their country’s uniform, let alone been to battle.
Sometimes presidents ignore advice at their own risk. Korb writes: “Certainly, there have been instances where presidents had overruled the advice of military leaders, with dire consequences. The most recent examples occurred under President George W. Bush. He not only ignored Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki’s advice that several hundred thousand ground troops would be needed to remove Saddam Hussein and restore order in Iraq after his removal. Not only was Gen. Shinseki ignored, he was publicly derided and undermined by the president and the secretary of defense when they appointed his successor early, even though Shineski still had a year left in his term. Ironically some of the same people now calling on Obama to listen to his generals and keep the door open to having combat ground troops in Iraq did not speak up for Shinseki. Bush also ignored the advice of his military commanders by diverting attention and resources from Afghanistan to Iraq, before the mission of restoring stability in Afghanistan and capturing Osama bin Laden and destroying al-Qaeda was completed.”
The Constitution grants the president the final say in all military matters. That’s as it should be.
Still, the commander in chief should listen carefully to what the brass has to say. They’ve been there. They understand the consequences of war better than most.