Productive Obama-Military Relationship Possible

[babylonsister]

Productive Obama-Military Relationship Possible
Experts Say Obama Must Walk a Line Between Consulting and Steamrolling
By Spencer Ackerman 11/13/08 1:16 PM


President-elect Barack Obama (WDCpix)


During his July trip to Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama met with a man who represents both an opportunity and an obstacle to his presidency: Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. Petraeus, a hero to many Americans for his management of the war in Iraq, argued in a private briefing that military commanders should be given wide latitude in handing the future course of the war — though Obama was running for president on a platform calling for a withdrawal of combat troops in 16 months.

The meeting offered a test for a relationship that might help define Obama’s term in office. Though he’s talked about governing in a bipartisan fashion, Obama ran for office as a progressive opposed to the Iraq war. The uniformed military, typically wary of liberals in general, is unsure what to think about Obama — and the last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, stumbled early in his relationship with the military.

Yet Obama struck a balance in the Petraeus meeting. “If I were in his shoes, I’d probably feel the same way” about preserving flexibility for military operations, Obama said of Petraeus after the meeting ended. “But my job as a candidate for president and a potential commander in chief extends beyond Iraq.”

To Peter Feaver, one of the leading scholars of civil-military relations, that comment was auspicious. “Obama had it pitch-perfect,” said Feaver, a professor of political science at Duke University and a national-security staffer for both Clinton and George W. Bush. “Obama was right to signal to the military, ‘I want your military advice, and I will factor it into my strategic decisions, where military advice is one of my concerns.’”

Whether a Commander-in-Chief Obama can continue the tone that Candidate Obama sounded in July remains to be seen. According to interviews with active and retired military officers, Obama and the military can have a productive relationship, provided that Obama operates along some simple principles. Consult, don’t steamroll — and don’t capitulate. Be honest about disagreements, and emphasize areas of agreement. Make Petraeus a partner, not an adversary.

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http://washingtonindependent.com/18335/productive-obama-military-relationship-possible

[TheWraith]

1. Excuse me?

Alright, I understand the political nature of the thing. But I must note that the idea of the military leadership pushing back against their civilian leadership is corrosive to the purpose of having a civilian-commanded military. If they're given illegal orders, that's a whole different thing, and they have specific channels to respond to that. Not that they've actually done so in the last 8 years. But making room for the military ranking officers to take issue because they don't share the same political viewpoints? Not a good precedent.