Mullen: Military can’t fix foreign woes

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Mullen: Military can’t fix foreign woes
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 13, 2009 18:27:08 EST

WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military officer says it’s too easy to hand off foreign policy problems to the well-organized, well-funded Pentagon, but that diplomacy is sometimes best left to diplomats.

“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,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said Monday.

Mullen said civilian agencies including the State Department deserve more money and support, because they can often do a better job of projecting American policy and ideas. It’s tempting to turn first to the can-do military when problems arise, but Mullen said that the experience of the Vietnam War gives him “an acute understanding of the finite application of force abroad, as well as its impact at home.”

Mullen did not mention more recent conflicts, such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, although top military leaders have said both will be resolved mostly through political settlements.

“When called, our military has served the role of ambassador extremely well,” Mullen told a Nixon Center audience.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_mullen_force_diplomacy_011309/%2e