Re: I think the amount of influence the Pentagon exerts is dependent mostly on the president. I've come to realize there is a climate of paranoia in this country that is encouraged by some presidents and nurtured and supported by the Pentagon. I think it must have developed after Pearl Harbor. Its what makes this country crazy and our foreign policy somewhat irrational....... again dependent on the president.
Come on! The US President is a mere transient within the US power structure, whereas the Pentagon/military is a perennial, overarching bureaucracy that somehow feeds upon its own, undemocratic logic.... Actually, the US military is like the water that the fish don't notice anymore: US society revolves around military life and events much more than its European counterpart. For that matter, you'll never see the British PM or the French President or the German Chancellor giving the military salute --even though, in the case of the French President for instance, he's also "Commander in Chief". Moreover, it's fashionable for retired US generals to "recycle" themselves by taking to politics --just think of Colin Powell, Wesley Clarke, Alexander Haig,... Over here, in Europe, it'd be unthinkable for retired generals to do politics at the executive level. The best they can hope is to end up in the European Parliament like French General Philippe Morillon(*) or as a Senator.... During presidential campaigns in France or legislative ones in Britain, Germany,..., you'll never see candidates travelling from one military base to the next, giving speeches to military audiences... If that were the case, people would say, hey, what's going on here!?! Is the military taking over or what? Contrariwise, in the US, every, any, candidate must show the people that he's the military's man... It'd be unthinkable for a US politician running for the White House or the Senate or just any office not to don a military cap or wave a rifle at some point during his campaign --and, of course, a record of a few "unpardoned" death sentences can't hurt.... Another telling detail on the difference between Europe and the US is the fact that Tony Blair was the only European head of government to visit British troops abroad (in Afghanistan and Iraq). All other EU countries have also dispatched top officials to cheer up the troops on Xmas day but it was either the Defense Minister (Michelle Aliot-Marie, André Flahaut,...) or the Foreign Minister (Joshka Fisher,...)
Finally and more importantly, the Pentagon's worldwide sprawl combined with its ubiquitous and overbearing clout at home makes it a natural tool to use for any US President... Just like most Americans rely spontaneously on their guns to protect themselves (in Europe, people dial the police first), the US President is naturally inclined to choose the military option to fix any serious geopolitical challenge, if only because he knows --and has been told during all his lifetime-- that the US military reigns supreme and unmatched worldwide. So, the US President's logic goes, why not make use of such a brilliant and powerful apparatus? Why should the US waste time haggling and bargaining with "rogue states" when the USAF brass here tells me that we can get them back on track faster with just a little bombing??
Gus
(*) epp-ed.org |
