Diplomatic Might

This was an interesting letter - from an interesting source (note the signature block at the bottom). This is, perhaps a sign that the military, here in the form of a professor from the Naval War College, has had enough of the neocon acid trip of world domination through preemptive warfare.

The original was in today's on-line Wall Street Journal, here (subscription required), but I hope Prof. Stigler doesn't mind me reproducing the entire thing here:

America Still Needs Striped-Pants Brigade

It is ironic that David Frum and Richard Perle ("Beware the Soft-Line Ideologues," editorial page, Jan. 7) dismiss diplomacy while using an example that clearly indicates the risks of an assertive foreign policy. They express concern over the future of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Yet the assassination attempts on Mr. Musharraf must be partly caused by frustration over assertive American actions abroad and Islamabad's reluctant support of those actions.

And condemning diplomacy because it has not solved an incredibly complicated problem such as the Israeli/Palestinian dispute is ridiculous. Their shallow perspective is akin to dismissing the utility of military force following our defeat in Vietnam.

My students at the Naval War College are chiefly military officers, many of whom served in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are not "soft-line ideologues." Yet it has constantly surprised me how many of them believe that diplomacy will be a crucial weapon in the struggle against terror. Given that military force alone will never defeat the diverse forces that generate terrorism, we must avoid the narrow and dangerous perspective that Messrs. Frum and Perle offer.

Andrew L. Stigler
Associate Professor
National Security Affairs
United States Naval War College
Newport, R.I.