Quote Of The Day: Military Adventurism Edition

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it,” Mr. Gates told an assembly of Army cadets here.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at West Point

FILED UNDER: Africa, Middle East, Military Affairs, National Security, US Politics, , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. tps says:

    So what he is saying is that we can get rid of the army and just use a few marines if we need ‘boots on the ground’? Not saying that isn’t a bad thing but if you rule out those areas then you can cut the army way, way back. Myself, I would fold most of the heavy, ie tanks, units into the army reserve and/or NG. That way you retain the capability but save a bit on the day to day costs.

  2. Dave Schuler says:

    My prediction: such resolutions last about a generation.