Donald Trump’s plan for the U.S. military will end its might
Stephen Saideman, of Carleton University, penned an opinion piece warning us about Donald Trump’s “creating” a “partisan military.” Saideman warns us that turning the military into a partisan force, at the expense of merit, sets the military up to making mistakes it otherwise would not make. Saideman references statements that Pete Hegseth made to help build his argument.
From MSNBC:
First, keeping the U.S. military out of partisan battles and keeping partisan bickering out of the military has been key to American military might for generations. When political loyalty replaces merit for promotion and selection to key commands, effectiveness suffers. Such militaries are led not by the most qualified officers, but by those who have most professed fealty to the chief executive. Even the most competent of these officers are far more likely to make major mistakes as they try to anticipate what might curry favor with the president rather than focus their assessments on battlefield realities.
The American military watched this dynamic firsthand when training the Iraqi forces in the late 2000s and early 2010s. When their officers were promoted based on merit, the Iraqis did well. But as partisan dynamics increasingly shaped promotions, the Iraqi army crumbled against the Islamic State’s attacks in 2014.
Second, civilian control of the armed forces depends on officers giving professional advice to leadership so that the civilians can make the big decisions concerning when to go to war, where to focus one’s efforts and so forth. Partisan generals and admirals would only tell the president what he wants to hear, making it more likely the U.S. blunders into a crisis. Again, we have seen this repeatedly happen around the world, including most recently with Russian generals telling Vladimir Putin that defeating Ukraine would be quick and easy.
Third, making partisan identity more important within the armed forces threatens to disrupt the cohesion of American military units. The irony here is clear — that those who have argued against women in combat roles and against efforts to create a diverse force, as Hegseth has, usually cite the threat these people pose to unit cohesion. Yet it is precisely the politicization of the military, making promotion contingent on partisan identity, that is most likely to create suspicion, distrust and rivalry within the American armed forces. Members of the armed forces will view the promotions of others as due to their political connections and loyalty to an individual and a party rather than to the Constitution.
Additional Reading:
Saideman, S. (2024, November 17). Trump’s partisan army would end American military might. MSNBC. Link.
Keeping political influence out of the US military gets the full endorsement of General Stanley McChrystal, US Army, Retired.
Benedict Arnold, too – if merit is the only factor.
Erwin Rommel, as well. While I fully believe his involvement (assuming he truly was involved) in the 20 July plot was morally correct, I cannot blame Hitler for removing him.
Hitler was going to spare Rommel, but when he learned that Rommel did not contribute to the Wermacht Relief Fund, it was game over. 100% participation means 109% participation.
He missed his dental appointment too.
Some sins are truly unforgivable.
No greater sin than screwing up MEDPROS just before the QTB.
Hack saw video on YouTube about Hitler. Not only did he kill millions of innocent people, his dentist said that he also had extremely bad breath. So anyone who has Halitosis, they must be a Nazi.
TRUE Historical fact: Adolph Hitler was a vegetarian and a teetotaler as well. Post the fact that he was vegetarian on Farcebook and see how quickly it gets “fact-checked”, it’s just like saying that Plymouth Rock is still at Sea Level! 😀😀
Full circle.
Trump doesn’t drink alcohol either, ergo
Trump = Hitler
Causing him to have to live for years in South America with no upper or lower jaw. I mean Hitler; I assumed you were referring to his dental X-rays.
And partisan politics never influenced the retention and promotion of military officers during the Obama-Biden Administration nor the Biden-Harris Administration. Every officer fully embraced the recruitment of transgender troops, the purging of service members who did not want the COVID vaccines, and understanding “White hostility”. 🙄
This Saideman, S. person seems to have a good understanding about how partisanship in the military effects “other” militaries around the world but has a real cataract when it comes to seeing how it effects our own! They point out what potentially could effect the standard by keeping to a standard rather than promoting due to diversity or inclusion, but don’t seem to equate this as partisanship.
Boy, I knew I had trouble seeing all those pine trees as a forest, but man this person can’t see it because there are all these leaves and pine needles on the ground!
The lack of self reflection in this writer is staggering…
The Diddycrats were promoting based on DEI and adherence to “The Message”. Trump going back to White House means meritocracy will return as the criteria for advancement. Trump going back to White House means the military’s job one will be defending the US and its interest worldwide. Trump going back to White House means it will be The US Military and not the Globalists Police Force. Why is it always Leftist pussies that NEVER served that have the strongest opinions about our military?
Partisanship is desirable when it’s Democrats, comrade! (I’m sure Lars will concur.)
Speaking of Lars, he has been pretty quiet since cackles was told thanks, but no.
Rumor is he spends his days “tied up”.
Friends of P Diddy perhaps?
Undo what Obama & Puppets did.
Make the Pentagon account for all it’s spending.
Focus on preparing to fight those who would destroy us.
May God enable Trump’s people to make this so.
How much was recently reported that the pentagon said they had no idea where the money went? I’m betting they do know, but if the truth got out as to where it went, the walls would be breached and bodies would be seen falling, or being tossed, from the rooftops.
The estimate I saw said over $800 billion.
That’s a CAPITOL B. Pretty soon, we’re talking real money.
That’s a lot of outdated Red Hat Software. A guy could afford a mailbox with a door with that kind of scratch.
And a more reliable jaguar.
Is there such a thing as a reliable Jaguar? You ever try going to the junkyard looking for a mortal coil that will fit a 1980’s vintage Jaguar?
When the pentagon asks for more money, tell them to locate the 800 billion and they will have their money, now quit asking.
I am sure Phil Monkress and All-Points Logistics got a chunk.
But The Shadow knows.
As does The Whistler.
“I … am the Whistler. And I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes … I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.”
I hope this… “writer”… never has to face a land nav course, because he’s definitely shot a back azimuth on this one. Everything he describes that will happen under Trump already started under Lord Obama.
Guessing this was part of the stuff, Obama was thinking about when he said, “We live in the greatest country in the world, join me now while I fundamentally change it.”
That night (Nov. 08, 2008), Obama told everyone that he was going to [fundamentally] destroy our country… (IMHO)
Correct. The Zero-bama and his band did everything in their power to get rid of the senior officers who rejected Progtardism. Many many years ago, I was taught that officers were supposed to be apolitical. Back in my day, most of us didn’t vote. If we had political views, we kept them to ourselves.
I don’t think I ever knew the political leanings of any of my officers until 2007. I was in my BN CDR’s office for an Article 15 reading (no, I was not the recipient) and saw a beautifully framed picture of her with Hillary. Kinda raised the hair on the back of my neck, but it was never an issue as far as I could see.
Umm and the woke/DEI policies of the past 4 years weren’t aiming at creating a partisan force? This administration caused damn near irreparable damage to the armed forces.
Jesus Christ these people don’t use their heads for anything other than a storage unit for rocks and dog shit.
If we are going to use the Iraqi “merit system” as a guide the GO’s and Field Grades better have their checkbooks handy. I can assure you after spending two years as an advisor to the Iraqi Army in the 2000s that they were (and probably still are) paying off people for promotions and demanding payment from their subordinates for the same. The only merit system that counted was how many Dinars you brought to the table.
The Iraqi Military collapsed for a lot of reasons:
Purges that took place after the withdraw
Pencil whipping unit readiness once the advisors left
Wholesale corruption with commanders selling everything from unit vehicles to body armor
General cowardice in the ranks without American support
There were other reasons I’m sure, but those were the real reasons for the collapse.
Don’t we have that now?
Hey, Milley went on about “white rage” causing “Jan 6th”… guess it was too “partisan” to stop BLM/Antifa from burning a church, too:
https://x.com/cnn/status/1408056581921595394
The Oath of Allegiance is to the
“Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
The key point here is the Constitution.
Seems pretty clear to me and I live my life by it.
Mr. Saideman is essentially saying what doesn’t need be said.
Captain obvious.
Not sure this is going to matter anyway. Biden seems insistent on his legacy being the end of civilization as we know it by starting WWIII. So the libs may have been right after all, the election of Trump might be the end of the world, just not as they predicted.
https://nypost.com/2024/11/18/world-news/bidens-decision-on-ukraine-long-range-missiles-a-big-step-towards-wwiii-russian-lawmaker-claims/
I’m already seeing leftists spin this as “Trump will just hand his boy Putin whatever he wants, since he owes him a ton of money and get him to not retaliate and end the war — then claiming he saved the day.”
If brain eating bacteria entered a leftists head, it’d fucking starve.
Russkies pissed:
https://news.yahoo.com/news/russias-response-us-missiles-appropriate-210304040.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
“From MSNBC…”
And scrolled past it right to the comments…..complete leftist shitbags….
Fuck them.
They know Jack and Shit.
I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand the post. Either way, I don’t give a DAMN what you think ….
Whoa. We’re under the influence of the same Deep State Info Shaping Operation, or something!
Whatever happened the Jack Shit and his occasional missives that people do not know him?
HEY, you know me, but Commissar doesn’t.
“But as partisan dynamics increasingly shaped promotions, the Iraqi army crumbled against the Islamic State’s attacks in 2014.”
Do you remember which administration under which those partisan dynamics happened, Mr. Saideman?
It was Trump’s fault. He wasn’t president yet but he was thinking about running. These thoughts permeated through alternate realities in the Middle East and completely undercut the Iraqi military. He was also seen by reliable witnesses near the Ramadi Bridge on RTE Michigan around one of the many times it was blown up, severing logistics support to the Western Province and leading to the rise of ISIS. He did this so that he could take credit for defeating them three years later.
251 currently serving Army Generals signed a memorandum attesting that this was all true and that they have full accountability of every 10mm crescent wrench in the whole Army.
I was in complete agreement with you right up until you mentioned 10mm crescent wrenches.
Nobody can ever account for any 10mm tool. Not a crescent, a socket, end wrench, or drill bit.
Its always the details that trip one up.
Those 10mm tools seem to sprout legs and escape from my tool box. Seems like they have all disappeared every time I need one.
I’ve got so many (somewhere) that I can’t keep count of them. My old mechanic’s tools are still in a neglected storage unit near Fort Stewart, having resided there for far too long. The Snap-On, Mac, Matco, and Craftsman 10mm sockets and wrenches should be safe and secure, or maybe some meth-addled ne’er-do-well decided he needed them more than me and the storage unit’s owner hasn’t let me know.
In more recent years, I’ve added Husky, Kobalt, DeWalt, Milwaukee, and many other brands to my collection of 10mm tools. Most recently, I’ve saved the time and expense of travelling to Lowe’s and Home Depot and just started checking out the clearance deals at the local Walmart. So far, I’ve scored a handful of good deals on tool sets (they typically mark them down 50%, so I paid $60 for the hart 215-piece set because it had a broken handle on the box). Surprisingly to me, some of them that had sockets or wrenches pilfered still had the 10mm, which is worth its weight in gold alone!
I need to get a 10mm pistol, then start buying some tool storage to organize my stuff. It sucks trying to do a simple job and not knowing where the tools are to do it.
No Harbor Freight? That’s like buying Factory Second condoms. They’ll break the first time that you use them.
Hack was talking to a friend the other day as we passed a mall with most of the stores now vacant, most notably what used to be the Sears Store. The question was what became of the Sears Tower in Chicago. Is it now a pop up store currently selling Chinese Christmas wreaths composed of the finest grade asbestos? And who got the Craftsman name, is someone now cranking out junk tools under the name Craftsman?
Black Stone bought the Sears Tower and it is currently used as corporate office space with many tenants. Black Stone is a really shitty venture capital firm that is one of the largest landlords in the US. They bought up hundreds of thousands of home during the sub prime crisis that they helped to create. Black Stone also bought up Ancestry.com and sold off the DNA information of the people dumb enough to provide it to any takers, including China.
Stanley Black and Decker bought up Craftsman and continue to offshore production just like Sears did after management was taken over by foreigners.
From wikipedia:
“In March 2009, London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings agreed to lease a portion of the building and obtained the naming rights.[“
I needed one the other day. Alas, the 10 mm socket and wrench holder was as barren as my fields.
Don’t let your kids, other family members or buddies near your tool boxes.
Don’t blame Hegseth, the Marine Corps (w/ their study on blended/exclusive units’ effectiveness), or reality itself. Women have no place in combat –unless on the rarest of occasions due in part to incidental conditions that are not mitigable– and every rational person can easily understand this if being 100% honest.
Second place in combat is a pine fucking box.
Send the best.
Send the most capable.
Send those that can endure.
Send men.
Protecting those benefactors to a failed/failing social experiment is a clear threat to “unit cohesion” but please, opine about a culture you know jack and shit about. Correct this or keep wasting training and resources on those who’d crumble in a real slog.
Standing-by to unleash the ‘toldyaso’.
Women don’t belong in ground combat units. And trannies don’t belong in the military at all as they are just as non-deployable as pregnant females. And the medical conditions of trannies is permanent.
Transgender troops could never deploy. Even after surgery is completed, they need follow up psychological treatment and hormone therapy. Hard enough to get a hot meal in a combat zone, are they going to displace combat essential equipment on that C-5 to make room for a Day Spa to accommodate the newly transitioned? A service member who can never deploy has no place in our military. They are taking up a slot and resources from some who can do the job without all of the “baggage”.
A partisan Democrat military hasn’t done too well, so I guess a partisan Republican one wouldn’t either. Gosh.
I’m guessing Mr. Saideman hasn’t looked real hard at recruiting numbers lately.
During the MacArthur dust up, the Army showed it had already been politicized. Generals came out as Democrat and Republican Generals, and nothing has changed since.