Our ambassador to the United Nations delivered an address on Wednesday in which she said:
I think there is too much of, ‘Oh, look, this is what intervention has wrought’ … one has to be careful about overdrawing lessons
But I think there's not
too much but really
too little of 'look what this intervention has wrought'. Indeed, Power and the rest of the current administration could use a strong dose of that kind of thinking. After all, we're still in Afghanistan and getting deeper into Iraq, wars which the administration has had 6 years to deal with. Then there's the outcome of the Libyan intervention and our involvement in Ukraine. And whatever we're planning for Russia and China.
To me, though, the most objectionable thing in Power's speech is this:
Power just returned from West Africa, where she met members of the U.S. military who are providing crucial tactical support for Operation United Assistance to help stop the spread of Ebola... Power described her trip as an example of the unique capabilities of the U.S. and its military.
To me the fact that we must use the armed forces to carry out humanitarian missions is not an argument for maintaining or enhancing our military posture, but rather for redirecting some of those resources toward supporting existing civilian organizations which have the motivation and expertise but not the cash required to perform that kind of mission.