Posted by
Boris Tiraspolsky on Saturday, May 31, 2008 1:22:16 AM
"The failure to recognize the ideological nature of “cause celebre” for jihadists creates great confusion in minds of the American people and U.S. political and military establishment." - Boris Tiraspolsky
Ideological immaturity of the Nation
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: "The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times. It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway. As the nation prepares to elect a new president," Mullen wrote, "we would all do well to remember the promises we made: to obey civilian authority, to support and defend the Constitution and to do our duty at all times.
Keeping our politics private is a good first step. The only things we should be wearing on our sleeves are our military insignia.
I am not suggesting that military professionals abandon all personal opinions about modern social or political issues. What I am suggesting - indeed, what the nation expects - is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in c-ockpit or camp or conference room. Part of the deal we made when we joined up was to willingly subordinate our individual interests to the greater good of protecting vital national interests.
If it's followed, great. If it's not, we only have two choices: obey the orders we have been given, carrying them out with the professionalism and loyalty they deserve, or vote with our feet. That's it. We don't get to debate those orders after the fact. We don't get to say, 'Well, it's not how I would have done it,' or, 'If they had only listened to me.' Too late at that point - and too cowardly."
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky:
A call for “political neutrality” of the U.S. Military in the current “crisis of human affairs” is an understandable concern of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Although, it fully reflects a lack of awareness of the U.S. Military leadership in a true nature of “ideological struggle of the 21st century”.
U.S. Military is an integral part of the American society and consequently reflects all society’s bad and good. The bad of the society is the ideological immaturity of the American people going alone with ideological ambiguity of the Nation’s leadership.
The American society in general is torn apart between either “wrong ideologies” or “ideology of no ideology”. Enhanced by widely accepted "political correctness", they dominate minds of the American people. No wonder the Military leadership is calling for “political neutrality” or rather "political correctness" of the U.S. Military.
First of all the very term “political neutrality” contradicts a nature of a human being. Already Aristotle (384-322 BC) defended in Politics I.2, that human beings are by nature "political animals”. If Aristotle lived nowadays, he could have most likely added that men are also “ideological animals”.
Secondly, there is no “neutrality” - political, economic, social, cultural - at a time of ideologically charged battle with U.S. irreconcilable ideological enemy - Islamic Jihadists. No one can be “neutral” facing the enemy intending to destroy our way of life and replace the Constitution of the United States with Islamic Law as the Supreme Law of the Land.
Therefore, a categorical refusal to be “neutral” is an initial call for Ideological Mobilization of the Nation and positive step for developing U.S. Ideology of Anti-Terrorism: principles of moral conduct and ability to distinguish beauty from ugliness in battle with Terror. On the contrary, any request for “neutrality” is in fact a call for ideological collaboration with the enemy.