"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." James Madison
I don’t doubt Bacevich’s brilliance and have read some of his writings years ago when I was at Command and Staff college. My take is that he is being more introspective in the wake of his son’s death. Getting back to the topic at hand, my question is what requirement are we meeting by cutting the Army’s end strength to record lows? The answer is we are not. The bean counters determined how much we can afford in Defense and passed that to the service chief’s who then came up with a troop number. This so we can continue to pay welfare and disability to those who don’t need it, the EPA, the Solyndra’s of the world, etc. I subscribe to Reagan’s ideal of “Peace through Strength.” We will rue the day (sooner than later) by our continued downsizing. Do we want the only card to play in a future showdown with a despot to be the nuclear option? That’s where we are headed.