Di Leo: Defense Policy and the Social Issues: Who Started This Fight?

American Thinker ^ | July 17, AD 2023 | John F Di Leo

[jfd1776]

The late Rush Limbaugh had a way of summarizing the issues in a concise, pithy way. On matters regarding the armed services, he would always remind his audience that “the purpose of the military is to kill people and break things.”

That’s not to say that there aren’t a thousand specific details about the military that are worth talking about. We have to discuss the force strength levels in peacetime and the force strength levels in time of war. We have to hammer out how much to pay the enlisted men and the officers, the infantry and the artillery, the JAG officers in the field and the engineers and clerks on desk duty stateside.

Which munitions should we use, how much ammunition should we stock, how thinly can we spread our forces, how much should we spend on advertising to bolster recruitment?

There is a reason we have numerous defense committees in Congress and whole departments in the executive branch dedicated to the armed forces and their veterans. There’s a lot to decide, a lot to keep track of.

But what’s its purpose? In the final analysis, everything they do is about defending the nation and its allies from attack by foreign armies, and, when needed -- hopefully, only when needed -- going out on offense and waging war...