Correspondence
defense, Minnesota's archbishop John been tippling at his summer home, $2,500 worth of plush victuals. Possibly Democratic National Committee's New Roach, turned up nicely enameled in headed the...
...Cohen's proposal adds new quate, comparable arrangement" to the a "real" national strategy...
...176176...
...But aircraft carriers, valuable as they undoubtedly are, cannot cruise everywhere simultaneously, can sink, and do not possess the full range of capabilities that long-range, land-based bombers do...
...Such a system has virtues for unscaled mountains of defense use of American technological power whatever quarter it threatens...
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...Oh, immoderation...
...Cohen's suggestion that pert a writer on defense issues as he is simplistic, single-track systems...
...criticized after the fact for disorganiza- maintenance and operational skill...
...Cropsey has released a school of red herrings and, I'm afraid, missed the point of my article...
...176...
...Were ardent spirits Plastered Prelate...
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...thinking is Mr...
...aircraft and the "Harpoon" and to illuminate: the complexity and range Committee, is "the swift suppression, More fruitful are efforts to enhance the "Tomahawk" missiles--have the of America's global defense at each level of consideration, of alter- voice and authority of the operational capacity to strike almost anywhere in responsibilities...
...Such efforts and strength of our defense system...
...He doubtless considers his letter a critique of the solutions I proposed, l, alas, believe that it simply provides more evidence of the problems that I described...
...And in Dallas, acy...
...176176176...
...The United strategy, defense resources, and opera- Washington-based general staff, whose in office politics and a remote, intrusive States deploys thirteen carrier battle tions...
...At the same time, operations (e.g., the retaliatory Naval air attack following the Beirut bombing, during which two airplanes were lost needlessly) suffer from excessive central control...
...and his elite staff would solve both if not flawed...
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...That capability is as general staff, second-guessing our appreciation of the issue's importance powerful chief of defense," from much at the heart of our national operational commanders...
...and increase competition is only one example of the flexibility strategy is not the hypothetical product battlefield--but those virtues are in defense procurement...
...Cropsey's cordialito belittle such critiques...
...Prepare vourselt to work in a congressional office...
...The comparison of the bagging of 400 Cuban reservisis plus the ragtag Grenadan militia with the crippling of the Imperial Japanese Navy in one of the largest sea battles in history seems to me problematic, at the very least...
...single military chief to provide the on- layers of bureaucracy, isolates politicalSoviets' deployment of medium-range Entirely absent from such a proposal ly advice our leaders receive as well as ly responsible civilian authorities from bombers as part of their long-range is any acknowledgment of the role of conduct operations--a power never yet the range of advice and information naval aviation forces...
...d -_ z. . Bumperslickers available: * Nuke The Whales + Caution: 1 Speed Up For Small Animals . Have You Slugged Your Kid Today...
...it is not to the credit of the two services that they wrestled over this problem of organization for eighteen of the most critical months of the war without reaching a solution...
...It constituency may vanish before Mr...
...I acted imprudently and was guil- influential in these essays into "serious 9 The Democratic party named Mr...
...For the dismal story of what happened when the Navy and the Army Air Forces failed to cooperate in this matter I refer him to Samuel Eliot Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, volume one, pages 237-247, and specifically page 246...
...Archbishop black-clad dignitaries retired to will be a more arduous job than he an- Kirk's very eyes...
...regarding potential gaps in our defense porary defense debate suffers from they reflect or encourage the wishful Such authority must never be confused policy as a whole...
...But surely so ex- enemy would certainly employ against arguments against any defense reform...
...Compare its shortcom- made by their ostensible adviser...
...This is not final authority of our civilian leader- along with these compromises would I'm grateful for Mr...
...Cropsey begins by criticizing two X of the examples I offer as problems in I our defense establishment...
...In sum, it seems to me that Mr...
...Cropsey has focused on a minor part of my article, ignoring the larger dilemmas 1 discussed...
...Military staffs jealously keep war plans from 9civilian review, and seek to smooth over intra-military disputes by compromise or evasion before presenting them to civilian superiors...
...Cropsey have us do--refrain from criticizing mistakes in any military operation, because mishaps are endemic to warfare...
...It will add to them...
...Thomas after last year's confabulation on duly promised to lead the party back ing...
...In the first (Air Force-Navy cooperation) he says in effect, "The Navy can do it alone," and in the second he reacts by citing an almost wholly Navy victory-Midway...
...Nuclear Plants Are Built Better Than Jane Fonda Enclose$2tbreach;$51brthree...
...Deputy Under Secretary way, which represented the turning rooted in the services, and their im- Compromises among services, Mr...
...I fail to understand why, in Mr...
...the "differently-abled...
...Box 1969, Bloomington, IN 47402...
...If it works, a major New Age College in St...
...Among the President's specific duties are the responsibility for Corporation activities in connection with the Corporation staff, the Corporation's Board of Directors, the Congress, Federal agencies, the private bar, local legal services programs, and other organized groups interested in legal services...
...Cropsey's reactions to two of the examples 1 have chosen as defense problems created by service parochialism (and I could have mentioned many others, particularly from the Vietnam war, but also the IPanian rescue fiasco) are instructive...
...For information call (212) 796-3072 or (212) 362-7844...
...Cohen charges our armed forces operational problems--like those he ings, however, with the manifold cient it may be--but to"wkat end...
...Oh, Archbishop arms and began its outburst against the with something like Pick the Most they will refer to the handicapped as Roach, what profligacy...
...d~ m ,p ,tIP ~ ~ ,fa II ,fa tO,tiP ,fa (. ( . Defense Choices the ultimate solution to defense prob- also appreciates the importance of Ranged against these losses are the Few are able to discuss our nation's lems is the creation of a "tiny corps" civilians making the decisions on which "gains" we would make: an intrusive military effectiveness with so serious an of strategic experts, led by a "single, democracy rests...
...Yet a "com-civilian leaders, who are charged with possessed by an American officer...
...Cropsey's view, a general staff of the kind Edward Luttwak has proposed (and which might very well include civilians) would bamboozle politicians any better than the politically-all-tooadroit staffs we have now...
...ATTRACTIVE, FEMININE D,W,F, 38, scuptress...
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...With a current annual appropriation of $305 million, the Corporation funds over 320 programs that deliver legal services directly to clients and furnishes' !through its staff, as well as by grants i and contracts, a wide variety of support services...
...These difficulties do not lie in the moral turpitude or inherent obtuseness of the officer corps--indeed, the disparagement of that officer corps by some "military reformers" strikes me as both baseless and irresponsible...
...Washington, DC 20005 An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer CORRESPONDENCE U (continued from page 7) Indeed, the very same accusations-that reform would debilitate civilian control, lead to meddling in the affairs of the "man on the spot," and add new layers of bureaucracy--were advanced with equal vigor against the development of central staffs in the Army and the Navy at the turn of the century, and against the creation of the Department of Defense in the late 1940s...
...pointed out by Mr...
...Name Address City Slate Zip Saturday Evening Club EO...
...Write CMLE, Box 31, Pelham, NY 10803...
...Finally, l call Mr...
...Paul...
...ls civilian control imperiled in Great Britain and Israel, both of which have much stronger central defense staffs and chiefs of defense staff than do we...
...In the second paragraph of his letter, he says that, in effect, joint Navy-Air Force operations over water are unnecessary, because the Navy can do the job all by itself...
...Mr...
...Such a tactical decision-making on the bureaucracy...
...throughout history...
...Box 877 Bloomington, 1N 47402 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR APRIL 1985 RECRUITMENT CAPITOL HILL STAFF TRAINING seminar...
...CORRESPONDENCE 9 q 9 4 1 1...
...Cropsey's claims to the contrary notwithstanding, the current system maximizes neither healthy civilian control (as opposed to micro-management) nor delegation of authority...
...I continue to find it alarming (and so do senior officers l've spoken with) that during the course of it our Army could not communicate directly with our Air Force, and that a tiny island had to be divided in two so that the Navy and Marine Corps, on the one hand, and the Army and Air Force on the other, could fight virtually separate wars...
...seeks friendship with unattached men...
...As for Grenada, what will Mr...
...Their failure to do so, in the writer's opinion, was due more to conflicting personalities and service ambitions than to any inherent difficulty...
...For these latter, we must seek institutional remedies...
...As for "extra layers of bureaucracy," they already exist in the form of service secretariats, vestiges of pre-Department of Defense days which protect parochial interests and prestige and divert talented public servants from defense-wide responsibilities...
...MD's, JD's, PhD's, Bus/Exec's, Talented Artists, MA's, etc...
...Cohen less than perfect world, our Joint dissenters...
...Cropsey's attention to my criticism of the current administration for the laxness of its civilian control, not its excessiveness...
...America's lewd capitalistic ways the into the American "mainstream...
...I am disappointed that Mr...
...Such criticism is reminiscent of ference between general theorizing, among Services could be suppressed-- dress, in this nation, citizens, and not the armchair critiques that have fol- best done at a distance, and true but with the loss of conflicting opinion only soldiers, will make the final lowed all successful military operations strategizing, best based on hard facts would go the expert, high-level cri-choices about defense...
...Again, any "duplica- thoroughly unnecessary and counterthought that military operations should with the micro-management engaged tion" of defense systems might be productive acrimony...
...Also absent is attention to a fact prime virtue, as expressed by a 1958 staff...
...The maximum salary Executive Level V (currently $68,700) is set by statute...
...a civilian leadership whose however take issue with certain of his argues that the single Chief of Defense Chiefs of Staff system would be unique function is to yea or nay decisions observations...
...Membership in the bar of the highest court of state and demonstrated ability in management and administration is required...
...Roach, who before being jugged had Washington's Tiberio's to consume over ticipates...
...Even such an over- and intimate knowledge of our tiques of proposed strategies and --Seth Cropsey whelming victory as the Battle of Mid- capabilities and readiness--knowledge weapons systems that have resulted...
...Or, they need, and replaces operational exparable arrangement" does exist, and making the final decisions on national consider the establishment of a new, pertise and field authority with savvy it is more than adequate...
...Experience with Congress, Federal agencies or other grant making agencies, and familiarity with the provision or delivery of legal services is desirable...
...Contact: Jeff Rvan The Leadership Institute 8001 Braddock Road, #402 Springfield, VA 22151 -,~ (703) 321-8580 LEGAL SERVICES PRESIDENT The Legal Services Corporation is seeking an experienced and skilled person to serve as President9 In coordination with the Corporation's Board of Directors, the President is responsible for overseeing the full range of activities conducted by the Corporation...
...Mr...
...While not ar-defense as it is our national welfare...
...very issues of priorities and force he among units of different armed ser-possess...
...Complete resumes should be submitted no later than March 15, 1985 to: Timothy Baker Legal Services Corporation 733 15th Street, N.W...
...9...
...This will not solve problems in groups, which--together with the strike Mr...
...replaced by the final decision of one tion and a lack of coordination in the Ours is also a system that reflects the Chief, trained in one service--but Eliot A. Cohen replies: attacks on the second day...
...This efficient defense that can defeat an enemy from natives...
...The fact of the matter is that Grenada was a mere skirmish, but a revealing one...
...This essential to informing the conduct of of the President and Secretary of of, and attention to, alternative views is no small matter, for the contemfuture operations...
...of a disinterested military genius whose precisely the qualities that make it, in are underway in this administration...
...return control of vital the world, with minimum notice, and Thus, for example, any successful, man at the top has only to approve or functions to the accountable military to remain constantly in range for ex- national strategy must reflect a diverse disapprove--but not to weigh alter-departments while cutting away at the tended periods of time...
...Cohen's larger argu- final say-so would allow us to escape the words of the HASC report, "a Equally important are the efforts of ment, however, is his characterization the consequences of our defense policy...
...Cohen, to of the successful Grenada mission as It is the very real product of the dangerous, instrument for determina- raise to the level of public debate the marred by communications problems deliberative, joint system we currently tion of national policy...
...Oh, degener- Yankee economy...
...Cohen with a useful defense against the measures an places simply resorted to chimerical A good example of such wishful distaste that I share...
...Mr...
...of all senior military officers (save the Can't Buy," TAS, February 1985...
...native courses of action, so that the commanders...
...Just before his election the --RET ,.,o,o...
...Nonetheless, 1 be problem-free, they can only promote in by junior systems-analysts in prevented--but with the absence of find that he has in some measure a harmful oversimplification of the McNamara's day, an experience such diversity vanishes a strategically caricatured my views, and in other risks that military success requires...
...LIBERAL-DOMINATED discussion group seeks new single male members with diverse views, 35-55, articulate, wellinformed, and willing to give talks periodically...
...Crop s~y's arguments reveal the kind of '%ervicism" (as Samuel P. Huntington has called it) that continues to bedevil efforts to provide a more coherent defense--which is not to say that the Navy has anything like a monopoly on such obstructionism...
...But to the extent that Defense to make decisions and choices...
...April 19lh and 20th in Washington, D.C...
...In ticulating just how such a system would It goes without saying that in this Chief of Defense) to whistle-blowing pursuit of the same goal, I must accomplish his goals, Mr...
...Free dental insurance is provided and health and life insurance are available...
...Rather, our problems stem in part from the changing power configurations of world politics, and in part from institutional maladies...
...Interests include theatre, classical music, movies, history, travel, and much more...
...Texas, the Presbyterians are organizing ty of some very serious bad judgment," bad judgment...
...Cohen has elsewhere done much report of the House Armed Services America's defense...
...They are ship, and works to enhance the ability be discarded any serious consideration ty in disagreeing with my article...
...with the failure to develop an "ade-finds in Grenada--and the search for dangers of a system that empowers a Mr...
...STATE YOUR CASE WHERE IT'LL COUNT...
...and also to the fact that nobody under the President had the authority to impose an agreement...
...The Legal Services Corporation is a private, non-profit corporation established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for legal assistance to the poor in civil matters...
...Seminal to Mr...
...fundamentally fallible, and thus defense scholars, like Mr...
...Our own Tom Bethell Paul Kirk, erstwhile aide to Senator a camorra that will change homosexthe decidedly avoirdupois prelate ad- has reported in our January issue that Edward Kennedy, as chairman, and he uals into heterosexuals by "divine healmitted to an assemblage at St...
...the reduction as Eliot A. Cohen ("Strategies Money within the military...
...The President has responsibility for directing all aspects of the operations i of the Legal Services Corporation...
...Write Box AV, c/o The American Spectator, P.O...
...Meet your match (212) 267-5785...
...EffiMr...
...of the Navy (Policy) point in the war in the Pacific, was mediate concern with force Cohen's greatest bugaboo, could be Washington, D.C...
...Possibly Democratic National Committee's New Roach, turned up nicely enameled in headed the holy Conference when it it is time to replace The American Spec- Age marplots declared that henceforth a Minnesota hoosegow after failing a confected its pish-posh on nuclear tator's Find the Fattest Bishop contest in their bulls and sacred conventicles blood-alcohol test...
...Oh, crapulence...
...The applicant must possess a law degree and have been licensed to practice for a minimum of five years...
...That system recognizes the dif- True, in such a system, disagreements believes our nation has failed to advices...
Vol. 18 • April 1985 • No. 4
