Quote:
Originally Posted by stuW
This brings me to the article. John McCain's dissertation at the Army War College after Vietnam, according to the NYtimes, argues that the army should teach the reasons for specific wars/interventions to its soldiers - he alleged this would reduce the number of soldiers breaking under torture. Beyond the more obvious concerns - political indoctrination, politics mixing with military, emphasis on motivation being political rather than service oriented - I think it's an idea worth entertaining for this specific thread, as presidential priorities change with administration. For example, an interesting question is will motivation to complete missions in Iraq be impacted if a president opposed to the war is elected?
]
|
First of all his paper was written in 1974 and like all military papers written in the various war colleges they are flavoured by the teaching points and assignments in the development of the paper.
Second, this has been done for years and is part of the curricula in our military war colleges.
Third, anything printed by the New York Times has been over edited to ensure that the liberal bias of the paper is not only preserved but that, if need be, additional information less than factual might be included to support their thesis which was more than likely developed before they wrote the article.
Fourth, had McCain not been running for president this would never have been published.
Fifth, motivation comes from within and not from political or military indoctrination.
Sixth, Soliders fight for each other and not for an administration. Once the mission is given and the battle is enjoined no one cares who is in the white house they care about taking care of each other and getting the job done.
Seventh, and the above six are just for starters.