tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046628493283608233.post2450758559674061701..comments2023-10-29T05:29:58.599-04:00Comments on Right-Side-of-Lowell: Reclaiming AmericaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046628493283608233.post-46371659777404671632010-06-06T11:31:56.565-04:002010-06-06T11:31:56.565-04:00Although I have never detected the slightest perso...Although I have never detected the slightest personal bitterness in his writing, Bacevich lost a son to combat in Iraq. For him, as reported by others, it was an absolutely crushing loss, given his long career with the Army.<br /><br />Among the many points made throughout The Limits of Power, I found a common thread that posits that America has, and continues to be quite disengenuous in its foreign policy face. We condemn other countries for the same things we reserve the right to do for ourselves. This tends to weaken rather than strengthen our international persona. <br /><br />His suggestion that we have evolved into an impotent Legislative Branch and an Imperial Presidency is spot on, and perhaps the greatest threat to America as we've known her. Some of that migration began out of what many suggest was the necessities of extricating the US from a deep depression (economically and psychologically) and spinning up the country for a world war. Many noted historians debunk that theory completely, and convincingly. FDR was a monumental egomaniac much the same as The One who is the most imperial of all the imperial Presidents in the past. And while much of what he forced into play benefited the country and its population, it was in truth a naked grab for power and a princely place in history.<br /><br />I am not certain that Bacevich had aspirations to be part of the Obumble administration, but I do think he would like to be involved in a more direct way in the formulation and implementation of national policy. Not so sure that would be a bad thing either.<br /><br />Having served (like many others who've worn the uniform) in overseas posts, Bacevich's assertions about American Exceptionalism is in so many ways exemplified by the book, The Ugly American. In my WestPac tours, I saw this played out in a hundred ways, over and over. At Clark AB, we had a HUGE on-base housing area that was reserved strictly for State Department employees. The houses were, even by field grade officer standards, quite luxurious and their occupants were by and large haughty to the point of being offensively snooty. They thought nothing of pushing we military scum to the back of the line because they were important. Of course, we 15 or 16 thousand military did precisely the same thing to the Filipinos....right in their own neighborhoods. While we were there, it was, our game, our rules. There was even one celebrated incident in which some American teenagers threw rotten fruit and cans at local nationals while riding DoD school busses to an off-base housing community. The local PC constabulary stopped the bus and arrested the kids, transporting them to the Angeles City jail......no doubt a horrible place to be. Well, the Base Commanderassembled a convoy of SP vehicles and launched a "rescue" mission. For a moment, it seemed to be an armed standoff, but the PI police chief caved in after considering his political future and gave up the kids. That single incident left a lot of bitterness in the local craw. <br /><br />As visitors in a foreign land, Americans become rapidly more like inquisitors. And, if you read Bacevich carefully, and completely, that is the same message he conveys.ncrosslandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667362872097065210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3046628493283608233.post-59728373253288084972010-06-06T08:33:04.091-04:002010-06-06T08:33:04.091-04:00I have long maintained that the decision making pr...I have long maintained that the decision making process during war, especially the long "Cold War," has skewed power to the White House. There is nothing like the threat of instant nuclear annihilation to streamline decision making.<br /><br />An unfortunate byproduct was that Americans started to view POTUS as the end all be all to federal government. It seems to me that Americans, not all, but most, want to hire a person that they can "fire and forget." Like a really, really smart bomb.<br /><br />Oddly, I credit Newt as a figure that challenged that notion.Jack Mitchellnoreply@blogger.com