The true measure, to me, of the use of force is not political or budgetary considerations. It is, instead, whether it is worth the lives and appropriate to the honor of the men and women who protect this country, all of them volunteers and all of them our neighbors and fellow citizens.
On the President, Realpolitik and the lives of Soldiers and Citizens.
High above the barren pass of Thermoplyae in Greece, there was a simple stone cairn. On it were written the stark and ringing words of the poet Simonides:
Go tell the Spartans Passer-by/
That we, here, obedient to their laws lie
Three hundred Spartans held that pass against the best forces of the Persian Empire, which at that time was master of the richest and most civilized parts of the world. In doing so, these men saved the Greek world, which became one of the cornerstones of western civilization.
But if you asked those men why they fought, they would not have said to save "western civilization" or the "Greek World." Instead, they would tell you they fought to protect their homes and their families and out of a Soldier's stubborn pride in his unit, his leaders and himself.
Like people reading this, these men did not wish to die. They wished to toil and to prosper. They wished to see their children grow tall and strong. They wished to sit in the warm sunlight at the end of a long summer's day. Instead, they took up spear, sword and shield and gave of themselves, giving even their lives.
Today, many young (and not so young) men and women serve in Iraq (heartland of that same Persian Empire), Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa in the Global War on Terrorism. Each month, many are killed and wounded. All come back from this service profoundly touched by this struggle. In doing so, they continue the proud tradition of Americans who stood in battle for our country at Bastogne and Bunker Hill, on Iwo Jima and in Fallujah, in the Ruqi Pocket with Norman Schwarzkopf and at New Orleans with Andrew Jackson.
There is a quote attributed to Plato: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." While this is doubtless true, the great burden on any President is to ensure that no young American ever dies in vain. Each of our fellow citizens who makes the ultimate sacrifice leaves a mother who knows the awful sorrow of a son or daughter brought home on their shield. Insuring that orphaned children and widowed spouses know that their Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine fell for a cause worthy of their sacrifice must be the first goal of the President in his role as Commander in Chief, something he awakens with every morning and falls asleep thinking of each night.
The power to wage war, in a democratic country, must be a constant weighing of options and evaluation of benefits and costs, some of those costs beyond counting.
France used to put the phrase "Ultima Ratio Regum" ("Last Argument of Kings") on its artillery. Clausewitz (the "Dead German") famously said, "War is merely a continuation of politics by other means." Based on history both are true, however, in each case military force is a "last argument" or a "continuation," rather than a first resort.
We must never refrain from using military force where doing so is necessary and just. Due to our global business interests and status as a trans-continental nation with large Atlantic and Pacific coasts and busy ports, we must have a strong Naval Service, to include a robust Marine Corps. We must have the Military and Aerospace capacity to be able to "continue" international politics credibly, to make a compelling "last argument."
That said, history is replete with examples (Hapsburg Spain, Edwardian England) of "Great Powers," with weakening economies that wasted enormous sums of money attempting to remain first rate military powers. This is a fine ... and critical balance. The ancient Chinese sage, Sun Tzu, wrote of this critical balancing in his classic work, The Art of War.
An Obama Administration will have to walk this line while trying to avoid giving political advantage to the Republicans by appearing "soft on defense" and having a foreign policy based on "appeasement."
But the true measure, to me, of the use of force is not these political or budgetary considerations. It is, instead, whether it is worth the lives and appropriate to the honor of the men and women who protect this country, all of them volunteers and all of them our neighbors and fellow citizens.
If this is done, nothing more can be asked.