How the Political Control the Military

No new taxes. This is a quote that roughly whole of us remember from the 1992 presidential election. along with it we remember that thither were new taxes during that presidents term in office. thither atomic number 18 a myriad of promises made and things do in a presidential election year that have questionable motives as to whether they atomic number 18 done in the best interest of the people or in the interests of the presidential candidate. These hidden interests are one of the biggest problems with the political aspects of government in unexampled society.One of the prime examples of this is the Vietnam warfare. Although South Vietnam asked for our help, which we had previously promised, the entire conflict was managed in put to meet personal political agendas and to remain politi remembery clear in the worlds eyes rather than to bring a quick and decisive end to the conflict. This can be seen in the selective give outing of Hanoi throughout the course of the Vietnam W ar. Politically this strategy looked very(prenominal) good. However, militarily it was ludicrous. War is the one arena in which politicians have no go under.War is the soldierss sole purpose. Therefore, the U. S. Military should be allowed to have a bun in the oven any war, conflict, or police action that it has been committed to without political birth restraint device or obligate because of the problems and hidden interests which are always present when dealing with polit United States involvement in the Vietnam War actually began in 1950 when the U. S. began to subsidise the French Army in South Vietnam. This involvement continued to compound throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s.On noble-minded 4, 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin mishap occurred in which the Statesn Naval Vessels in South Vietnamese waters were fired upon by North Vietnam. On August 5, 1964 President Johnson pass along a resolution expressing the determination of the United Sates in supporting liber ty and in protecting peace in southeast Asia ( Johnson ). On August 7, 1964, in response to the presidential request, Congress authorized President Johnson to beat all necessary measures to repel any attack and to prevent pugnacity against the U. S. n southeast Asia ( United States ).The selective bombing of North Vietnam began in a flash in response to this resolution. In March of the following year U. S. describes began to arrive. Although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution specifically stated that we had no multitude, political, or territorial ambitions in southeast Asia, the interests back home were quite a unalike story ( Johnson ). The political involvement in Vietnam was about much more than than just promised aid to a weak country in order to prevent the spread of communism.It was about money. After all, wars require equipment, guns, tools and machinery. Most of which was produced in the United States. It was about proving Americas commitment to s go on communism. Or rat her to confine communism in its present boundaries But most of all it was about politics. The presidential political involvement in Vietnam had itsy-bitsy to do with Vietnam at all. It was about China for Eisenhower, about Russia for Kennedy, about cap D. C. for Johnson, and about himself for Nixon ( Post ).The last two of which were the major players in Americas involvement in regards to U. S. Troops beingness used ( Wittman ). The soldiers involvement in Vietnam is directly related to the political management of the troops throughout the war. The military controlled by the politicians. The micro management of the military by the White House for political gain is the primary reason for some(prenominal) the length and cost, both monetary and human, of the Vietnam War ( Pelland ). One of the largest problems was the lack of a clear objective in the war and the support to accomplish it.The prevalent military opinion of the militarys role in Vietnam in respect to the political i nvolvement is seen in the following quote by General Colin Powell, If youre going to put into something thence you owe the build up forces, you owe the American People, you owe just youre own need to succeed, a clear statement of what political objective youre onerous to achieve and then you put the sufficient force to that objective so that you know when youve accomplished it.The politicians dictated the war in Vietnam, it was a peculiar(a) war, the military was never allowed to fight the war in the manner that they design that they needed to in order to win it ( bread maker ). To conclude on the Vietnam War, the political management of the war made it unwinnable. The military was at the clemency of politicians who knew very little about what needed to be done militarily in order to win the war. There is an enormous difference amidst political judgment and military judgment. This difference is the primary reason for the gist of the Vietnam War ( Schwarzkopf ).The Gulf War i n the Middle East was close the exact opposite in respect to the political influence on the war. In respect to the military objective of the war the two are relatively similar. The objective was to liberate a weaker country from their aggressor. The United farmings resolution was explicit in its wording regarding military force in the Persian Gulf. The resolution specifically stated by all means necessary. ( Schwarzkopf ). The President was very aware of the problems with political management of warfare throughout the war.He was very determined to let the military call the shots about how the war was conducted. He made a specific exertion to prevent the suggestion that civilians were going to try to run the war ( Baker ). Painful lessons had been analyzeed in the Vietnam War, which was still fresh on the minds of many an(prenominal) of those involved in this war ( Baker ). The military was given unspoilt control to use force as they saw fit. Many of the top military leaders ha d also been involved in the Vietnam War. These men exhibited a very strong never again attitude throughout the mean stages of this war.General Schwarzkopf made the following statement about the proposed bombing of Iraq in regards to the limited bombing in Vietnam, I had no doubt we would bomb Iraq if I was going to be the Military Commander. He went on to recite that it would be absolutely stupid to go into a military safari against his, Iraqs, forces who had a tremendous advantage on us on the ground, amount wise. It would be ludicrous not to fight the war in the pipeline as much, if not more, than on the ground ( Schwarzkopf ). The result of the Gulf War in which the military was given control, as we know, was a quick, decisive victory.There were many other situationors involved in this than just the military being given control, particularly in contrast to Vietnam, but the military having control played a major part in this victory. In conclusion, although there are some m ajor differences between the two conflicts one fact can be seen very clearly. That is the fact that the military is best worthy for conducting wars. Politicians are not. It is not the place of a politicians to be involved in the decision making process in regards to war or military strategy. The White House has significant control in military matters.That control should be used to help the military in achieving its goals as it was in the Gulf War where George Bush said specifically to let the military do its job. The only alternative to this is to use political influence in the same way that it was used in Vietnam. If we do not learn from these lessons that are so obvious in the differences between these two conflicts then we are condemned to repeat the same mis injects. Lets just pray that it does not take the death of another 58,000 of Americas men to learn that the politicians place is not in war but in peace ( Roush ).