‘No Boots on the Ground’ Is a Mantra, Not a Strategy
By Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, U.S. Army retired and
Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, U.S. Army retired
Army Magazine, 15 August 2014
No political or military leader responsible for the lives of citizens who become soldiers ever wants to give the order to put American service members at risk. That desire is even more present after more than a decade of waging and fighting war. The decision to employ American forces should be based upon U.S. interests and an objective assessment of what kinds of forces are needed to achieve the outcome the nation’s interests require, not merely what its leaders desire. The U.S. sustains its military forces to defend itself and its interests. These forces exist to provide options for political leaders. The current “no boots on the ground” mantra is a policy, not a strategy; moreover, it is problematic from five important perspectives: strategically, operationally, institutionally, historically and morally.
Phi Beta Iota: This is a truly comprehensive, thoughtful, important article and should be read by anyone who cares about responsible sustainable national defense. From where we sit, the primary problem is political — neither the White House nor the Secretary of Defense appear to actually care about creating a coherent effective affordable defense architecture. They seem to be focused only on keeping the money moving. Below for the record are several documents associated with the failure of Robert Steele to break through to Chuck Hagel, who is either a prisoner in his own house, or complicit in the neglect of our human factor, our strategy, and our need. They are posted with permission.
9 July 2014 Letter to SecDef 3.5
CounterPunch Defense Intelligence – Seven Strikes
Bedbug Letter with Note to SecDef
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