Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: Time to demilitarize U.S. foreign policy
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — In what could signal a reversal of the Bush administration posture, the U.S. military has stated its opposition to playing a leading role in foreign missions.
Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed opposition to what he termed the growing militarization of U.S. foreign policy. Mullen, the leading U.S. military officer, said Washington should seek a civilian solution to international problems.
"I believe we should be more willing to break this cycle, and say when armed forces may not always be the best choice to take the lead," Mullen said on Jan. 12. "We must expand our interaction with other departments and agencies, conveying those lessons through training and consultation where and when needed. There's a great deal more to do."
In an address to the Nixon Center, Mullen said the U.S. military has often been used for foreign missions in what has garnered domestic controversy.
The call to lower the U.S. military profile appeared to reflect the policy of the incoming administration of President-elect Barak Obama. On Jan. 13, Obama's choice for secretary of state, Sen. Hillary Clinton, said she supported reconciliation talks with the Teheran regime.
"We will not sit down for the sake of talking," Ms. Clinton wrote in answers posed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "But we are willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at the time and place of our choosing — if and only if — it can advance the interest of the United States...The President-elect has made it clear that in the Obama administration there will be no doubt about the leading role of diplomacy."
Mullen, echoing the position of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said most of the time the military should not be placed in the lead role. Gates has been appointed by Obama to continue in the post of defense secretary.
"We must be just as bold in providing options when they don't involve our participation or our leadership, or, even when those options aren't popular — especially when they are not popular," Mullen said. "And although there are many situations where we should not take the lead — in most cases, we could be one great supporting partner."
"For if we are truly to cut oxygen from the fire of violent extremism, we must leverage every single aspect of national power — soft and hard," Mullen said. "The way we approach these issues is critical; it requires a comprehensive approach, from diplomacy, to foreign assistance and aid, to building partnership capacity, to building partners."
Officials said Mullen's address reflected the desire of the U.S. military to focus on rebuilding rather than being used for missions around the world. They said the military was being exhausted through long-term deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mullen contrasted the military, with a budget of $650 billion in 2009, to the State Department, usually the lead player in foreign missions. He said the military has often been selected because it has been "flexible, well-funded, designed to take risk."
"And so, when we are willing to pitch in, as we usually are, we tend to receive more resources," Mullen said.
Mullen called for the military, preparing for a withdrawal from Iraq, to play a support role in foreign missions. He said this could involve transfering resources to the State Department and other government agencies for a civilian solution.
"It's not that others aren't willing to lead. I know for a fact that they are," Mullen said. "But in many cases, they are just not able."