The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke with Jim Lehrer on tonight’s News Hour. He reinforced much of what Obama has long been saying -- as well as what Obama said today about the need to factor recommendations from military leaders into a larger strategic vision.
Mullen repeatedly took pains to indicate that his military perspective is an expression of his role as a facilitator of President Bush's stated mission. "Right now I’m working for the current commander in chief."
Key points:
- The situation in Afghanistan is "precarious and urgent."
- We need three additional brigades there.
- Our commitment in Iraq has not allowed us to put the necessary troops in Afghanistan.
- The existing Bush mission treats Afghanistan as a lower priority than Iraq (a prioritizing that McCain so far has supported).
- The job of military leaders is to focus on carrying out missions set by civilian leadership -- not to argue strategic priorities.
- Mullen would have no trouble or hesitation executing a new mission by a new commander in chief.
While Mullen was careful to say he was hopeful that progress could be made in Afghanistan with the current troop levels there, he told Lehrer he agreed with Obama’s language that the situation is "precarious and urgent":
Mullen: "I am concerned. We don’t have enough troops there [Afghanistan]. I’ve said that over many months. And in that regard we need to flow troops there as soon as they’re available"
Lehrer: "Why don’t we have more troops there, Admiral?"
Mullen: "Well we’re very committed with a significant number of troops in Iraq. We are in a cycle that deploys them at a certain rate. They’re gone for 12 or 15 months and they’re back for about that period of time. We’re at a time where we’re building the Army and the Marine Corps over the next couple of years. So we’ve got our troops committed right now. Either preparing, or there, or coming back. And until we get to a point where we reduce that commitment we won’t have significant additional troops to add to Afghanistan."
Mullen repeatedly indicated that his job was to carry out the mission of the commander in chief, very much reinforcing Obama’s characterization of military leaders as specialists in the execution of their assigned tasks, rather than more sweeping experts on national security strategies.
"I’ll get missions from whoever [the next] president is, and I’ll give him my best military advice, and I’ll get direction from him and I’ll carry that out."
Above all, says Mullen, the military should remain neutral when it comes to political debates. "And in maintaining that position we carry out the mission that we have right now, which is given to us by our commander in chief, and we’ll continue to do so. [...] Right now I’m working for the current commander in chief."
So, bottom line, asks Lehrer, if the next president says we need to be out of Iraq in 16 months you’d do so? "Absolutely," answered Mullen, without missing a beat.
When Lehrer pressed Mullen to state outright what could be inferred from his previous comments -- that 10,000 troops are needed immediately in Afghanistan -- Mullen demonstrated that his job is not to advance such opinions, but, rather, to execute missions set by civilian leadership:
My priorities again, given to me by the Commander in Chief, are to focus on Iraq first – it’s been that way for some time – focus on Afghanistan second, and then look to build some dwell time, some time at home for our troops who have been on these many deployments. And those priorities continue to exist and that’s really how we’re addressing the challenges that we have.
While Mullen said the past year’s surge was pivotal in changing Iraqi conditions on the ground, he also agreed with Obama that a complex combination of factors accounted for positive developments there: the mobilization of the "Sons of Iraq," the development of Iraqi army and police, the "Sunni awakening" in Anbar Province, economic development, and evolving conditions in Basra.
Mullen also said he was pleased with the recent discussions between the US and Iran (which, of course, Obama has been advocating for a year). Mullen strongly endorsed increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran and said he worries about the unintended consequences of any military action there.