My Ode to Caspar Weinberger
Posted by Michael Cohen
Spencer Ackerman is doubling down on the notion that Bob Gates is the BEST. SECDEF. EVER. Personally, I think these kinds of lists don't tell us very much. While I suppose Gates is in the top tier, it's just too early to tell . . . and it's a bit of a stretch to argue that his defense budget was "one of the bravest ever." Not terrible, sure. But brave . . .
And FWIW you could make a strong case that Dick Cheney was one of the best Sec Defs ever (boy, that hurt to write).
But Spencer has written something that consistently rankles about the tenure of Caspar Weinberger as Secretary of Defense . . . and it merits a response:
Weinberger because the Reagan defense build-up was a central event in the life of the Pentagon and so was Goldwater-Nichols — but the Weinberger Doctrine of overwhelming force proved to be obsolete-to-detrimental half a decade after Weinberger left office.
No, no, no. Sheesh, this is a complete mischaracterization of the Weinberger Doctrine. Below are the six key elements of what Weinberger said in his National Press Club speech discussing criteria for the use of military force.
1) The United States should not commit forces to combat overseas unless the particular engagement or occasion is deemed vital to our national interest or that of our allies.2) If we decide it is necessary to put combat troops into a given situation, we should do so wholeheartedly, and with the clear intention of winning.3) If we do decide to commit forces to combat overseas, we should have clearly defined political and military objectives.4) The relationship between our objectives and the forces we have committed -- their size, composition and disposition -- must be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary.5) Before the U.S. commits combat forces abroad, there must be some reasonable assurance we will have the support of the American people and their elected representatives in Congress.6) The commitment of U.S. forces to combat should be a last resort.
As you will see, overwhelming force is never explicitly mentioned in the Weinberger Doctrine - but more directly how much force the United States uses is far less important than the when, where and why of how the US chooses to act militarily. What's more the Weinberger was hardly obsolete five years later; it largely informed US defense policy for 15 years.
And it was hardly detrimental. Take a moment to consider what would have happened if the Bush Administration had actually considered the tenets of the Weinberger Doctrine before we went to war in Iraq? Indeed, that war violates every single principle of the Weinberger Doctrine - and the Powell Doctrine by the way. And who again was Secretary of State when the Iraq war occurred?
You can probably say some bad things about Caspar Weinberger's tenure as Secretary of Defense, but the Weinberger Doctrine is definitely not one of them.
And while we're on the subject of the Weinberger/Powell Doctrine this is as good a time as any to link to my article last summer on why this doctrine is deeply relevant to modern discussions about the use of military force.
The one real, continuing impact of the Weinberger/Powell doctrine is that it compels Presidents to pay lip service to its tenets even while ignoring them. Case in point, the war that you imagine "violates every single principle of the doctrine"; here's what a Bush Administration offical would tell you:
1) The United States should not commit forces to combat overseas unless the particular engagement or occasion is deemed vital to our national interest or that of our allies.
It was vital to the security of Americans that Saddam Hussein not have access to or the opportunity to use weapons of mass destruction. In fact, this was so imperative that we could not afford to wait for confirmation that such weapons exist(ed) or would be imminently available to him.
2) If we decide it is necessary to put combat troops into a given situation, we should do so wholeheartedly, and with the clear intention of winning.
"Shock and awe" was not a halfhearted effort. We effectively sized the force to destroy the Iraqi army and oust the Saddam regime within six weeks, effectively ensuring that there would be no WMD use against the U.S. or its regional allies.
3) If we do decide to commit forces to combat overseas, we should have clearly defined political and military objectives.
Our clearly defined political and military objective was to change the regime in Iraq through the destruction of the Iraqi military and the conquering and control of the capital city.
4) The relationship between our objectives and the forces we have committed -- their size, composition and disposition -- must be continually reassessed and adjusted if necessary.
There was little need to reassess and adjust as our appropriately-sized force stormed through Iraq like a hot knife through butter, sustaining minimal casualties and effecting its desired end-states with very little resistance.
5) Before the U.S. commits combat forces abroad, there must be some reasonable assurance we will have the support of the American people and their elected representatives in Congress.
Congress and the U.S. public overwhelmingly supported Operation Iraqi Freedom in March of 2003.
6) The commitment of U.S. forces to combat should be a last resort.
Saddam had been given every opportunity to demonstrate that he lacked the weapons that we feared, to grant access to weapons inspectors, to throw himself on the mercy of the United Nations and the international coalition. He failed to do so, and we had no other options but to restrain his potential use of these catastrophically dangerous weapons by force.
Now what this little hypothetical does is to demonstrate exactly how meaningless and unhelpful the "Weinberger doctrine" was and is when stated in the strictly circumscribed form that you've presented. It's merely a restatement of the principles that every journalist, Congressman, and member of the public would expect from its military and political leadership when commiting forces to war!
Of course, when we add the generally accepted "Powell doctrine" elaborations -- overwhelming force and a defined exit strategy -- the whole thing becomes potentially harmful and counterproductive. Why must force be overwhelming, rather than appropriately calibrated to objectives? How can we clearly define an exit strategy prior to an engagement that will evolve as a result of factors beyond our control or expectation? Of course there should be considered thought given to what would constitute a win and when it might be appropriate to return the bulk of combat forces to their home stations, but this isn't precisely the same as a "clearly defined exit strategy."
The Powell doctrine, at root, is a method for constraining the use of U.S. military power to accomplish foreign policy objectives. It's a very modern and sort of unconventional idea to imagine that the military ought to be used only for the defense of the nation rather than to influence American political and economic interests. And it's that very fact that means it will be largely ignored and eventually become a mere footnote in history.
Posted by: Gulliver | March 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Very quickly; the war in Iraq was not vital to our national interests (it was of course based on a series of lies and manipulations by Bush Admin officials about the nature of Iraq's WMD program and its relationship to AQ); second, clearly we did not go in to Iraq wholeheartedly - or else Rummy wouldn't have kept cutting down the number of troops needed for the war or the Bush Administration wouldn't have continued to deny requests for more troops after the invasion; third, this comment states a clear military objective, not a clear political objective. To change the regime you need to have a clear sense of what you are changing to . . . we didn't; fourth, no sentient observer of the Iraq occupation could rationally argue that we constantly reassessed and readjusted the size, composition and disposition of the force. That didn't happen until 2007. And even before the war, the war plans were never modified based on changing political and military realities - like the loss of a 2nd front from Turkey, the lack of political support from allies and the results of UN inspections, which found no WMD; fifth, there was not overwhelming support from the American people in 2003 and there certainly wasn't in 2007 when more troops were sent. Sixth, the notion that force was considered a last resort is laughable. If it was a last resort the US would have waited for the UN inspectors to do their job.
Of course, this whole comment misses the larger point. Yes, the Weinberger Doctrine is really just a helpful set of principles and no, policymakers shouldn't be expected to adhere to it completely (one could argue that the Gulf War, in some ways, didn't adhere to Powell - certainly that was the case for Kosovo). But Weinberger/Powell provides a helpful construct in how we think about the use of force - it would have been very helpful if the Bush administration and Congress had asked and debated each of these questions before going to war in Iraq. Moreover, it is not a method "for constraining the use of U.S. military power to accomplish foreign policy objectives" it's a tool for debating whether the use of US military power CAN and WILL accomplish for pol objectives.
Posted by: Michael Cohen | March 12, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Michael -- I think you're the one missing the point: it's not a matter of the Bush Administration not having considered or answered these questions, but rather that you disagree with their answers or feel like they weren't given in good faith. Which is all well and good, except that at the end of the day the only answers that matter are those given by the White House.
You suggest that the Weinberger/Powell doctrine is useful, but only if the national leadership gives the same answers that you would. Of course, that depends on them having a similar understanding of the facts, a similar place on the pessimisim/realism/optimism spectrum, a similar conception of exactly how much military force and political action can accomplish, and a similar idea of exactly what constitutes "national interests," "necessity," "clearly defined," and "last resort."
That's why it doesn't make any sense for me to go back and forth with you on the specifics of the Bush Administration's justifications for war: first, because I don't agree with them, and second, because it doesn't really matter what I think. The Weinberger/Powell doctrine is about considering those questions and only proceeding with military action if the answers meet a certain standard. Of course, the problem is that you and I don't get to decide if the standard is met; the White House does, and the Congress does if and when they authorize the action (or appropriate the money). In the case of Iraq, despite what you view as an egregious abrogation of the responsibility to honestly consider Weinberger's list, the White House was able to convince Congress that they'd done so to the degree necessary.
So again, your problem isn't that the Weinberger doctrine wasn't used, but that its consideration by people with fundamentally different beliefs, preconceptions, and understandings of the facts is often going to yield very different action to what you'd recommend. And that's exactly why it's basically irrelevant.
Of course, the Powell extensions or elaborations make it worse than irrelevant, and essentially constitute a method for military leaders to justify resistance to courses of action that they deem unwise. You don't have a problem with this, as I understand it, because your general view is that there need to be MORE formal mechanisms for the military to proscribe action on the part of elected political leaders, like, for example, by failing to institutionalize capabilities that a political leader may seek to use but which you deem to be necessary only in instances when intervention isn't advisable. So at least you're consistent on this one.
Posted by: Gulliver | March 12, 2010 at 01:12 PM
I don't know, I would argue that the constraints of the Powell Doctrine limited the interventionist desires of the Clinton Administration - certainly that was the case on Bosnia.
And yes, of course I agree with you that "the only answers that matter are those given by the White House." What is worrisome is that we getting to a place today (see Mullen at KSU) where the policymakers are arguing directly against the Powell Doctrine - which is the absolute wrong lesson to be drawn from Iraq and which bodes for more, not less military interventions in the future.
My argument is that policymakers - particularly on the civilian side - would be wise to reconsider the lessons of Weinberger/Powell before they intervene militarily. It's a worthwhile construct for thinking through the ramifications of using force.
Posted by: Michael Cohen | March 12, 2010 at 01:28 PM
My argument is that policymakers - particularly on the civilian side - would be wise to reconsider the lessons of Weinberger/Powell before they intervene militarily. It's a worthwhile construct for thinking through the ramifications of using force.
If the point of all this is to say that policymakers and political leaders should give serious, considered thoughts to the consequences of their actions, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree.
I still think the Weinberger/Powell "doctrine" is stupid.
Posted by: Gulliver | March 12, 2010 at 01:31 PM
Yes they should give considered thought . . . and the Weinberger/Powell Doctrine provides a worthwhile set of criteria for such a discussion. Sheesh
Posted by: Michael Cohen | March 12, 2010 at 02:52 PM
The war in Iraq was an epic disaster. It was an embarassing facade predicated on lie after lie, unprecedented corruption and even now, plenty of bloodshed which is regrettable for a country which has suffered so brutally under the previous dictatorship.
Iraq now is a haven for extremist groups to operate and I must question the use of all our efforts there if they will just use it as another breeding ground once we leave.
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