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All things equal, I (US Citizen) prefer that our military be effective and efficient. It troubles me though that there is virtually no public discussion on the

by b1daly 9y ago

All things equal, I (US Citizen) prefer that our military be effective and efficient. It troubles me though that there is virtually no public discussion on the unprecedented geographic scope , and time length, of today’s employments. This whole thread is interesting, and I think it is worth considering: to what end is all this innovation being applied? I have come to the conclusion that the professionalization of the services, coupled with the parasitic business model of the “defense industry,” has turned the US armed forces into a standing mercenary force. Ultimately, the blame for this lies with the corrupt electoral system in the US, and the unwillingness of our political leadership to exert a modicum of common sense, and reduce the scale of US military involvements. We can’t rely on institutions that many entities rely on for their livelihood/existence to put themselves out of business. It would be nice to see the military engage in disruptive innovation that would discourage open ended military conflict. (And the endless meddling in other countries ghastly civil wars.)

unit91 9y ago
>...has turned the US armed forces into a standing mercenary force. This statement makes no sense. A mercenary is "a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army" [1]. It's impossible to be a mercenary for your own country. 1. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+mercenary https://www.google.com/search?q=define+mercenary
- b1daly 9y ago
  Jeez, I’m making a rhetorical point that the US army, which is not technically a mercenary army, as it is the official army of a sovereign state, has turned into an organization whose operations are driven by business interests.
  - jayliew 9y ago
    Just that there’s no confusion, the point of a civilian-controlled military is so that the military doesn’t do what the military wants. The military does what its people wants (or maybe needs), based on instructions from the civilian leader(s) voted into political office by the civilians. The military is but one of many tools in the toolkit of our civilian foreign policy makers. If you have an issue with how foreign policy is done, the right person/people in charge that should know are the politicians. They control the military.

by b1daly 9y ago

unit91 9y ago

>...has turned the US armed forces into a standing mercenary force. This statement makes no sense. A mercenary is "a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army" [1]. It's impossible to be a mercenary for your own country. 1. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+mercenary https://www.google.com/search?q=define+mercenary

b1daly 9y ago
Jeez, I’m making a rhetorical point that the US army, which is not technically a mercenary army, as it is the official army of a sovereign state, has turned into an organization whose operations are driven by business interests.
- jayliew 9y ago
  Just that there’s no confusion, the point of a civilian-controlled military is so that the military doesn’t do what the military wants. The military does what its people wants (or maybe needs), based on instructions from the civilian leader(s) voted into political office by the civilians. The military is but one of many tools in the toolkit of our civilian foreign policy makers. If you have an issue with how foreign policy is done, the right person/people in charge that should know are the politicians. They control the military.