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View Full Version : tPF An interesting perspective on the failings of all the Presidential candidates



OGIS
03-08-2016, 12:08 PM
What the 2016 Presidential Candidates Get Wrong About the Future of WarThey fail, they lack, they misunderstand, they pander, they don’t get, and they just don’t know national security – not according to our Future of War roster of experts.

“The President shall be Commander in Chief…”

This clause that leads Article Two, Section II of the U.S. Constitution is without a doubt the most important of the executive powers granted to the president by the Founding Fathers. But as today’s crop of presidential candidates seek that job, do they really understand the issues that await them tomorrow when it comes to the future of war?
If history is any guide, the answer is no. When George Washington took the oath of office for the first time, he didn’t expect he’d soon be leading a force of some 13,000 troops into Western Pennsylvania to put down the Whiskey Rebellion (the first and last time the president served as a commander in chief in the field). Abraham Lincoln, at his inauguration, expected conflict was on the way, as seven Southern states already had seceded since his election. But no one expected the Civil War would last four more years and introduce industrialized warfare. More recently, George W. Bush entered office lamenting “nation building” and would leave it presiding over two massive nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In turn, Barack Obama pledged to responsibly end America’s involvements in these wars. He will leave office not only with forces still there, but also having commanded air and drone war campaigns in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia.
The Future of War project is a joint effort of New America and Arizona State, in partnership with Defense One, that brings together a diverse group of experts, whose backgrounds range from Navy SEALs and scientists to historians, journalists, and lawyers. As a lead up to the project’s “Future of War” conference (http://futureofwar.newamerica.org) on Mar. 10—which you can livestream here (http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/03/livestream-future-war-conference-2016/126406/)—we asked them:
“What do the 2016 presidential candidates get most wrong about the #FutureofWar?”
Their answers covered areas that ranged from strategy to terrorism, but a theme that cut through was...

more: http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2016/03/what-2016-presidential-candidates-get-wrong-about-future-war/126478/?oref=defenseone_today_nl