Supreme Command by Eliot A. Cohen - Page 2

Cohen follows up with an survey of Vietnam and the Gulf Wars. Contrary to popular opinion, Cohen understands the restrictions Johnson put on the conduct of the war—preventing offensive ground operations in order to avoid provoking a Chinese reaction. What he doesn't understand is Johnson's almost complete faith in the military's strategy, and why Johnson didn't question whether that strategy could produce a victory within his constraints. In the end, it was the military and the next President who came up with Vietnamization, which failed when the US withdrew its air support and military subsidies.

His reviews of the Gulf Wars also go against received wisdom: the first Bush administration, learning the wrong lessons from Vietnam, all but ceded complete control over the war to the military chiefs, even allowing them to make such obviously political decisions as when the war was "won," and to negotiate the cease-fire with Hussein regime. The Iraq War, by contrast, saw heavy management by SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, a man who had already alienated much of the top brass by questioning standing military doctrine. Rumsfeld's management clearly subordinated war planning to political ends and constraints, to Cohen's approval.

The Appendix looks at the historical development of the "normal" theory of civilian-military relations, taking aim not only at Huntington's defense of that theory, but also at his assertion that a non-ideological "professional" military fights best. A moment's reflection should be enough to convince anyone that the training and practice of a professional military work better when the men doing the fighting believe in their country and their mission.

In the end, Cohen makes a strong case that when a democracy conducts something as serious and potentially destructive as a war, something that requires the ongoing commitment of a people, not merely an organization, the politicans and not the military are best-suited to understanding the symbolism and morale of the people.

Cross-Posted at jsharf.com
Edited: PC

Article Author: Joshua Sharf

Joshua Sharf blogs here primarily as a book reviewer. He has his own site at jsharf.com, and is a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Alliance of Blogs. He is also a contributing editor at Newsbusters. Joshua blogs from Denver, CO.

Visit Joshua Sharf's author page — Joshua Sharf's Blog