This piece, titled "Love the Warrior, Hate the War", is an extremely important one, explaining how progressives support the military while opposing bad military policy. For years conservatives have propagated the lie that opposition to policy is tantamount to opposing our troops (except, of course, when they were doing it during the Clinton years), and it's a fallacy that needs correction.
The military is a unique organization, and one that is, at once, misunderstood, fetishized, scapegoated, and underestimated by various groups and individuals. There's virtually nothing inherent or intrinsic about a group of nearly 1.5 million people, and while any group that large will have some outlying bad apples, my interaction with servicemen and -women is largely in line with the observations of the author, Lorelei Kelly.
Ms. Kelly, it should be noted, is no DINO, and currently advises the Progressive Caucus on national security and foreign policy matters. She explains,
Today, nearly every general that testifies before Congress claims that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan do not have purely military solutions. This sea change means that many members of the military and progressives are philosophically much closer than either believes and they are both hurt by the lack of meaningful interaction. Understanding and aligning with the military around shared concerns could be a crucial new strategy for the left.Many priorities are shared by progressives and soldiers alike, and despite historic wariness between these groups, the disaster of Iraq has shown clearly that the military cannot blindly put its faith in conservatives and progressives who lack a meaningful understanding of the military cede their rightful voice on national security. As Ms. Kelly points out,
Despite their ability to wield tremendous physical force, the military is vulnerable when it comes to protecting itself in the domestic policy process. The armed services’ professional ethic forbids interference in political decision-making. Hence their fate is often influenced most by those poised to gain in the short-term, either financially or politically, and who encounter no similar professional barriers —i.e., defense industry lobbyists, members of Congress and an executive branch obsessed by domestic politics.A variety of progressive national security groups are working doggedly on these issues, and rightly so. Check out the entire article.
This strategy is not unrealistic. Today’s antiwar movement is leagues more sophisticated than the one that ended the Vietnam war. Today’s liberal activist has learned how to be anti-war without being anti-warrior.
What’s more, liberal philosophy shares many values with the military: looking after the general welfare, shared risk, sacrifice for common goals and long-term planning. Liberals value public service, and the military is our largest public institution.
