Militarization of US foreign policy - early March

Now some time for a bit of pontificating. When I worked construction, I loved having my framing hammer at my side. In a pinch, it could work as a screwdriver, measuring tape, wire stripper, tin snips, paint scraper, trowel, and more if I thought a bit harder. However, it wasn’t as good as any of those other tools at getting the respective job done. We Americans have been sold a rotten apple and it isn’t fair to the taxpayers, the international community, and especially to our soldiers. Due to a brilliant cadre of lobbyists, and politicians on both sides who feel that any questioning of support for defense is unpatriotic, we’ve built a massive hammer. What are the results? Look to Haiti, where we sent thousands down, to support a Humanitarian effort. Look at Yemen, where a few members of Al Quaeda will drain $1.5 BILLION over the next few years. I can guarantee you that because of the ability to point to a “boogeyman” no-one on the hill will question these funds. This occurs, despite the fact that USAID and other agencies are being hassled about how they can find the internal capacity to absorb $130 Million over the same period of time. Note that Yemen has some of the highest fertility rates, lowest literacy rates, highest mother/child morbidity rates, and lowest revenue generating rates in the world. Despite this huge need, and a general positive predisposition to the US, our ability to build resiliency within Yemen is hindered by lack of lobbyists. As a result, the hammer will be used as our men in uniform do their best to work hand-in-hand with USAID to support their efforts as best they can. Despite standing up to their headquarters, at the end of the day, they have to fall in line. Some might favor the approach of the hammer. Note the good it did us in Afghanistan. The former commanding General of all of Special Operations ended up ending special operations except in rare circumstances because they were generating more support for the enemy. As a country, we have to learn to recognize the value of soft power or we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of those before us. History illustrates time and again how global hegemons overextend their reach militarily and are brought down, militarily, economically, or through a simple effort to balance power. All seem to be in process right now. Our soldiers are being worn out, retention has plummeted over the last decade, PTSD has skyrocketed, families are strained, and more. They are being asked to conduct missions which they weren’t trained for because our country has developed a bellicose pompousness that we promote but refuse to explore the consequences of the broken lives, the shattered alliances, and the polarizing effect it has across the globe. By leveraging all “tools in our toolbelt/kit” the US could address the global problems it faces with much more wisdom and foresight. I pray this begins to happen before it is too late for us as a country. For those of you rolling your eyes, please read up on some of the many public statements that Secretary of Defense Gates has made concerning funding over the past couple of years.