Posted on 01/23/2015 10:54:37 AM PST by Citizen Zed
“You cannot impose your will, you can’t impose your values, you can’t impose your standards, your institutions on other societies and other countries. It has never worked; it never will work, as noble as you believe [the effort] is,” he is quoted as saying.
This conclusion is partially based on his experience as an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War, as he explains: “The violence, the horrors, the suffering that I saw [in Vietnam] conditioned me … I saw the suffering of our own troops; I saw the suffering of the Vietnamese people; I saw terrible things, which war always produces.”
In addition, his personal experience of war, combined with the public experience of the American military, has him worried about “mission creep” — the slow militarization of U.S policy. The U.S. has been conducting large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq with billions of DoD dollars spent (and often wasted) on non-traditional military assignments (e.g., institution-building). Hagel notes:
“It is easy to drift into other missions, and I do believe that you always have to ask the tough questions, [such as] what happens next? "
(Excerpt) Read more at thediplomat.com ...
There are also limits that come from having an idiot in charge of military power, as he proved over and over.
Hagel couldn’t wipe his butt without Odungo’s OK
Two words: Japan. Germany.
I think Hagel is telling Petraeus his COIN policy doesn’t work with the new world order being put in place by this administration that has Islam as its basis.
Hegel put the “stupid” in the military/industrial complex......
Of course, now he will become a lobbyist, and STEAL for a living.
Tell that to the Romans. Or Attila. Or Genghis Khan. Or the Vikings. Or the Normans.
History is filled with cultures that imposed their values on others very successfully. However, that first requires that you believe in your own culture.
Douglas MacArthur as the defacto American Pro Counsel of Japan proved otherwise to Hagel’s assertions made to Gady in this interview with Hagel reported in “The Diplomat”.
Bombing them back into the stone age works. Hagel has no balls.
Hagel is a Dhimmi, if not an actual convert. Taken in that context there is a deeper meaning to his statements than one would assume from mere appearances.
Japan was the extreme case. While demonstrating that it is possible to effect change on a civilizational level, unconditional surrender and sustained occupation were necessary to accomplish the goal. Anything less leaves only short term change and, as Iraq showed, is a waste of the victor’s lives and treasure.
The neoconservative belief that we can change the culture of other nations, short of sustained domination, leads to overly long wars destined to be repeated. Afghanistan is the poster boy, Islam the paradigm. As Napoleon said, “If you’re going to take Vienna, take Vienna.”
In other words, half-assed warfare is a loser’s game. See also the Korean ‘conflict,’ and Viet Nam.
The violence, the horrors, the suffering that I saw [in Vietnam] conditioned me ... I saw the suffering of our own troops; I saw the suffering of the Vietnamese people; I saw terrible things, which war always produces.Because, y'know, he served in Vietnam, just like John "Reporting for Duty" Kerry.
Unfortunately, cultures whose values are being visibly undermined daily will have trouble imposing them on those who are willing to destroy other cultures to impose theirs.
There was a time when America had the will to wipe the other slate clean(er), too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.