{"id":77581,"date":"2016-08-15T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=77581"},"modified":"2016-08-12T17:54:07","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T16:54:07","slug":"military-dissent-is-not-an-oxymoron-freeing-democracy-from-perpetual-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/08\/military-dissent-is-not-an-oxymoron-freeing-democracy-from-perpetual-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Military Dissent Is Not an Oxymoron – Freeing Democracy from Perpetual War"},"content":{"rendered":"

11 Aug 2016 – <\/em>The United States is now engaged in perpetual war with victory nowhere in sight.\u00a0 Iraq is chaotic and scarred<\/a>. So, too, is Libya<\/a>. Syria barely exists. After 15 years, \u201cprogress\u201d in Afghanistan has proven eminently reversible<\/a> as efforts to rollback recent Taliban gains<\/a> continue to falter. The Islamic State may be fracturing, but its various franchises are finding new and horrifying ways to replicate themselves and lash out. Having spent trillions of dollars<\/a> on war with such sorry results, it\u2019s a wonder that key figures in the U.S. military or officials in any other part of America\u2019s colossal national security state<\/a> and the military-industrial complex (\u201cthe Complex<\/a>\u201d for short) haven\u2019t spoken out forcefully and critically about the disasters on their watch.<\/p>\n

\"(Photo:<\/a>

(Photo: Lance Cpl. Ryan Mains\/Marine Corps)<\/p><\/div>\n

Yet they have remained remarkably mum when it comes to the obvious.\u00a0 Such a blanket silence can\u2019t simply be attributed to the war-loving nature of the U.S. military.\u00a0 Sure, its warriors and warfighters<\/a> always define themselves as battle-ready, but the troops themselves don\u2019t pick the fights.\u00a0 Nor is it simply attributable to the Complex\u2019s love of power and profit, though its members are hardly eager to push back against government decisions that feed the bottom line. To understand the silence of the military in particular in the face of a visible crisis of war-making, you shouldn\u2019t assume that, from private to general, its members don\u2019t have complicated, often highly critical feelings about what\u2019s going on. The real question is: Why they don\u2019t ever express them publicly?<\/p>\n

To understand that silence means grasping all the intertwined personal, emotional, and institutional reasons why few in the military or the rest of the national security state ever speak out critically on policies that may disturb them and with which they may privately disagree. I should know, because like so many others I learned to silence my doubts during my career in the military.<\/p>\n

My Very Own \u201cStar Wars\u201d Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a young Air Force lieutenant at the tail end of the Cold War, I found myself working on something I loathed: the militarization of space.\u00a0 The Air Force had scheduled a test of an anti-satellite<\/a> (ASAT) missile to be launched at high altitude from an F-15 fighter jet.\u00a0 The missile was designed to streak into low earth orbit to strike at the satellites of enemy powers.\u00a0 The Soviets were rumored to have their own ASAT capability and this was our answer.\u00a0 If the Soviets had a capability, Americans had to have the same — or better.\u00a0 We called it \u201cdeterrence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since I was a kid, weaned on old episodes of \u201cStar Trek<\/a>,\u201d I\u2019d seen space as \u201cthe final frontier,\u201d a better place than conflict-ridden Earth, a place where anything was possible — maybe even peace.\u00a0 As far as I was concerned, the last thing we needed was to militarize that frontier.\u00a0 Yet there I was in 1986 working in the Space Surveillance Center in Cheyenne Mountain<\/a> in support of a test that, if it worked, would have helped turn space into yet another war zone.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t surprise you to learn that, despite my feelings, which couldn\u2019t have been stronger, I didn\u2019t speak up against the test.\u00a0 Not a peep.\u00a0 I kept my critical thoughts and doubts to myself.\u00a0 I told myself that I was doing my duty, that it wasn\u2019t my place to question decisions made at high levels in the administration of then-President Ronald Reagan.\u00a0 You can\u2019t have a disciplined and orderly military if troops challenge every decision, can you?\u00a0 Orders are to be obeyed, right?\u00a0 Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die — especially since we were then at war with the Soviets, even if that war fell under the label of \u201ccold.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I buried my misgivings about facilitating a future shooting war in orbit.\u00a0 I remember, in fact, hoping that the ASAT test would go well and that I\u2019d be seen as effective at my job. \u00a0And in this I think I was probably pretty typical of military people, then and now.<\/p>\n

The F-15 ASAT program was eventually cancelled, but not before it taught me a lesson that\u2019s obvious only in retrospect: mission priorities and military imperatives in such a hierarchical situation are powerful factors in suppressing morality and critical thinking.\u00a0 It\u2019s so much easier, so much more \u201cnatural,\u201d to do one\u2019s job and conform rather than speak out and buck a system that\u2019s not made for the public expression of dissenting views.\u00a0 After all, a military with an ethos of “we’re all volunteers, so suck it up — or get out” is well suited to inhibiting dissent, as its creators intended.<\/p>\n

To those who\u2019ve been exposed to hierarchical, authority-heavy institutions, that lesson will undoubtedly come as no surprise.\u00a0 Heck, I grew up Catholic and joined the military, so I know something about the pressures to conform within such institutions.\u00a0 In the Church, you learn — or at least you did in my day — that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, and the \u201cold guard\u201d priests and nuns I encountered were more than ready to encourage that fear.\u00a0 In the military, you learn from day one of basic training that it\u2019s best to put up and<\/em> shut up.\u00a0 No grumbling in the ranks.\u00a0 No quibbling.\u00a0 Yes, sir; no, sir; no excuse, sir.\u00a0 Cooperate and graduate.\u00a0 That conformist mentality is difficult to challenge or change, no matter your subsequent rank or position.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sensible reason for all this.\u00a0 You can\u2019t herd cats, nor can you make a cohesive military unit out of them.\u00a0 In life and death situations, obedience and discipline are vital to rapid action.<\/p>\n

As true as that may be, however, America doesn\u2019t need more obedience: it needs more dissent.\u00a0 Not only among its citizens but within its military — maybe there especially.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, in the post-9\/11 era, we\u2019ve exalted and essentially worshipped the military as \u201cour greatest national treasure\u201d (the words<\/a> of former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta at the recent Democratic convention).\u00a0 The military has, in fact, become so crucial to Washington that aspiring civilian commanders-in-chief like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump lean on retired generals to anoint them as qualified for the job. (For Trump, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn<\/a> did the honors; for Hillary, General John Allen<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The Pentagon has, in a very real sense, become America\u2019s national cathedral.\u00a0 If we\u2019re going to continue to worship at it, we should at least ask for some minimal level of honesty from its priests.\u00a0 In militarized America<\/a>, the question of the moment is how to encourage such honesty.<\/p>\n

Call it patriotic dissent.\u00a0 By \u201cdissent\u201d I mean honest talk from those who should know best about the hazards and horrors of perpetual war, about how poorly those conflicts have gone and are going.\u00a0 We desperately need to encourage informed critics and skeptics within the military and the Complex to speak their minds in a way that moves the national needle away from incessant bombing<\/a> and perpetual war.<\/p>\n

Yet to do so, we must first understand the obstacles involved.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious, for example, that a government which has launched a war against whistleblowers<\/a>, wielding the World War I-era Espionage Act<\/a> against them and locking away Chelsea Manning<\/a> for a veritable lifetime in a maximum security prison, isn\u2019t likely to suddenly encourage more critical thinking and public expression inside the national security state. But much else stands in the way of the rest of us hearing a little critical speech from the \u201cfourth branch<\/a>\u201d of government.<\/p>\n

Seven Reasons Why It\u2019s So Hard to Break Ranks \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a start, it\u2019s hard for outsiders to imagine just how difficult it is to break ranks when you\u2019re in the military.\u00a0 So many pressures combine to squelch dissent — everything from feelings of loyalty and patriotism to careerist concerns and worries about punishment.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t immune from such pressures, which is why my story is fairly typical.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve said, I had my criticisms of the military, but I didn\u2019t begin to air them until 2007<\/a>, two years after I\u2019d retired.<\/p>\n

Why the delay?\u00a0 I can offer explanations but no excuses.\u00a0 Unless you\u2019ve been in the military, you have little idea how all-enveloping and all-consuming such a life can be.\u00a0 In a strange way, it may be the closest thing to true socialism in America: base housing provided and tied to your rank, government doctors and “socialized” medicine for all, education for your children in base schools<\/a>, and worship at the base chapel; in other words, a remarkably insular life, intensified when troops are assigned to \u201cLittle Americas\u201d abroad (bases like Ramstein<\/a> in Germany).\u00a0 For Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/em> fans, think of Ramstein and similar bases around the world as the Borg cubes<\/a> of American life — places where you\u2019re automatically assimilated into the collective.\u00a0 In such a hive life, resistance is all but futile.<\/p>\n

This effect is only intensified by the tribalism of war.\u00a0 Unit cohesion, encouraged at all times, reaches a fever pitch under fire as the mission (and keeping your buddies and yourself alive) becomes all-consuming.\u00a0 Staring at the business end of an AK-47 is hardly conducive to reflective, critical thinking, nor should it be.<\/p>\n

Leaving military insularity, unit loyalty, and the pressure of combat aside, however, here are seven other factors I\u2019ve witnessed, which combine to inhibit dissent within military circles.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Careerism and ambition<\/em>: The U.S. military no longer has potentially recalcitrant draftees — it has \u201cvolunteers.\u201d\u00a0 Yesteryear\u2019s draftees were sometimes skeptics; many just wanted to endure their years in the military and get out.\u00a0 Today\u2019s volunteers are usually believers; most want to excel.\u00a0 Getting a reputation for critical comments or other forms of outspokenness generally means not being rewarded with fast promotions and plum assignments.\u00a0 Career-oriented troops quickly learn that it\u2019s better to fail upwards quietly than to impale yourself on your sword while expressing honest opinions.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t believe me, ask all those overly decorated generals of our failed wars you see on TV.<\/li>\n
  2. Future careerism and ambition<\/em>: What to do when you leave the military?\u00a0 Civilian job options are often quite limited. Many troops realize that they will be able to double or triple their pay, however, if they go to work for a defense contractor<\/a>, serving as a military consultant or adviser overseas.\u00a0 Why endanger lucrative prospects (or even your security clearance, which could be worth tens of thousands of dollars to you and firms looking to hire you) by earning a reputation for being \u201cdifficult\u201d?<\/li>\n
  3. Lack of diversity:<\/em> The U.S. military is not blue and red and purple America writ small; it\u2019s a selective sampling<\/a> of the country that has already winnowed out most of the doubters and rebels.\u00a0 This is, of course, by design.\u00a0 After Vietnam, the high command was determined<\/a> never to have such a wave of dissent<\/a> within the ranks again and in this (unlike so much else) they succeeded.\u00a0 Think about it: between \u201cwarriors\u201d and citizen-soldiers, who is more likely to be tractable and remain silent?<\/li>\n
  4. A belief that you can effect change by working quietly from within the system<\/em>: Call it the Harold K. Johnson<\/a> effect.\u00a0 Johnson was an Army general during the Vietnam War who considered resigning in protest over what he saw as a lost cause.\u00a0 He decided against it, wagering that he could better effect change while still wearing four stars, a decision he later came deeply to regret.\u00a0 The truth is that the system has time-tested ways of neutralizing internal dissent, burying it, or channeling it and so rendering it harmless.<\/li>\n
  5. The constant valorization of the military<\/em>: Ever since 9\/11, the gushing pro-military rhetoric of presidents and other politicians has undoubtedly served to quiet honest doubts within the military.\u00a0 If the president and Congress think you\u2019re the best military ever<\/a>, a force for human liberation<\/a>, America\u2019s greatest national treasure, who are you to disagree, Private Schmuckatelli<\/a>?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    America used to think differently.\u00a0 Our founders considered a standing army to be a pernicious threat to democracy.\u00a0 Until World War II, they generally preferred isolationism to imperialism, though of course many were eager to take land from Native Americans and Mexicans while double-crossing Cubans, Filipinos, and other peoples when it came to their independence.\u00a0 If you doubt that, just read War is a Racket<\/em> by Smedley Butler<\/a>, a Marine general in the early decades of the last century and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor. In the present context, think of it this way: democracies should see a standing military as a necessary evil, and military spending as a regressive tax on civilization — as President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously did when he compared such spending to humanity being crucified on a cross of iron<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Chanting constant hosannas to the troops and telling them they\u2019re the greatest ever<\/a> — remember the outcry against Muhammad Ali when, with significantly more cause, he boasted<\/a> that he<\/em> was the greatest? — may make our military feel good, but it won\u2019t help them see their flaws, nor us as a nation see ours.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Loss of the respect of peers<\/em>: Dissent is lonely.\u00a0 It\u2019s been more than a decade since my retirement and I still hesitate to write articles like this.\u00a0 (It\u2019s never fun getting hate mail from people who think you\u2019re un-American for daring to criticize any aspect of the military.)\u00a0 Small wonder that critics choose to keep their own counsel while they\u2019re in the service.<\/li>\n
    2. Even when you leave the military, you never truly leave<\/em>: I haven\u2019t been on a military base in years.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t donned a uniform since my retirement ceremony in 2005.\u00a0 Yet occasionally someone will call me \u201ccolonel.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s always a reminder that I\u2019m still \u201cin.\u201d I may have left the military behind, but it never left me<\/em> behind.\u00a0 I can still snap to attention, render a proper salute, recite my officer\u2019s oath from memory.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In short, I\u2019m not a former but a retired officer.\u00a0 My uniform may be gathering dust in the basement, but I haven\u2019t forgotten how it made me feel when I wore it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think any of us who have served ever do.\u00a0 That strong sense of belonging, that emotional bond, makes you think twice before speaking out.\u00a0 Or at least that\u2019s been my experience.\u00a0 Even as I call for more honesty within our military, more bracing dissent, I have to admit that I still feel a residual sense of hesitation.\u00a0 Make of that what you will.<\/p>\n

      Bonus Reason<\/em>: Troops are sometimes reluctant to speak out because they doubt Americans will listen, or if they do, empathize and understand.\u00a0 It\u2019s one thing to vent your frustrations in private among friends on your military base or at the local VFW hall among other veterans.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite another to talk to outsiders.\u00a0 War\u2019s sacrifices and horrors are especially difficult to convey and often traumatic to relive.\u00a0 Nevertheless, as a country, we need to find ways to encourage veterans to speak out and we also need to teach ourselves how to listen — truly listen — no matter the harshness of what they describe or how disturbed what they actually have to say may make us feel.<\/p>\n

      Encouraging Our Troops to Speak More Freely<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Perpetual war is a far greater threat<\/a> to democracy in our country than ISIS, Russia, or any other external threat you want to mention.\u00a0 To again quote former President Eisenhower, who as supreme commander<\/a> of Allied forces in World War II had learned something of the true nature of war, \u201cOnly Americans can hurt America.\u201d<\/p>\n

      The military and the entire apparatus of the burgeoning national security state should exist for a single purpose: to defend the country — that is, to safeguard the Constitution and our rights, liberties, and freedoms.\u00a0 When it does that, it\u2019s doing its job, and deserves praise (but never worship).\u00a0 When it doesn\u2019t, it should be criticized, reformed, even rebuilt from the ground up (and in more modest, less imperial fashion).<\/p>\n

      But this process is unlikely to begin as long as our leaders continue to wage war without end and we the people continue to shout \u201cAmen!\u201d whenever the Pentagon asks for more weapons and money for war.\u00a0 To heal our increasingly fractured democracy, we need to empower liberty and nurture integrity within the institution that Americans say they trust the most<\/a>: the U.S. military.\u00a0 Dissenting voices must be encouraged and dissenting thoughts empowered in the service of rejecting the very idea of war without end.<\/p>\n

      Some will doubtless claim that encouraging patriotic dissent within the military can only weaken its combat effectiveness, endangering our national security.\u00a0 But when, I wonder, did it become wise for a democracy to emulate Sparta?\u00a0 And when is it ever possible to be perfectly secure?<\/p>\n

      ___________________________________<\/p>\n

      William J. Astore is a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF). He taught history for fifteen years at military and civilian schools and blogs at <\/em>Bracing Views<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

      Copyright 2016 William J. Astore<\/em><\/p>\n

      Go to Original \u2013 tomdispatch.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      11 Aug 2016 – The United States is now engaged in perpetual war with victory nowhere in sight. Having spent trillions of dollars on war with such sorry results, it\u2019s a wonder that key figures in the U.S. military or officials in any other part of America\u2019s colossal national security state and the military-industrial complex (\u201cthe Complex\u201d for short) haven\u2019t spoken out forcefully and critically about the disasters on their watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-militarism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}