The Military Deserves Better

When I first heard that we had begun bombing Libya, I wasn't happy at all. Many of my critics think that I'm opposed because I'm not exactly on the same side of the political aisle as President Obama. But, I also differ in my reasons for disagreeing with my conservative peers.
Personally, I don't necessarily find the action unconstitutional. I do, however, find the action confusing considering that when President Obama was a senator he criticized President Bush saying, "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
My biggest frustration with this is a lack of purpose. A lack of leadership. Leadership is influencing people—by providing purpose, direction, and motivation—while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. Our military lacks all three! But, I've found someone who can say it better than I can.

Since the national mission is not clear, Admiral Mullen’s uncertainty is understandable, but his words are inexcusable. Our nation’s top military officer is obligated to demand from the Commander in Chief a clearly defined mission with a clearly expected outcome (how this ends) – the objective. He owes that to the serving men and women and their families who are being asked to lay it on the line. If he does not have the fortitude to demand that from the CINC, then he needs to call on any remaining honor and courage that he has left and resign.

JD Pendry has a GREAT post up on this topic and since I agree completely with it, I'd rather link to him for you to read it. I've become a little gun shy about speaking my mind to such an accurate degree. But, even Secretary Gates agrees that “[bombing Libya] was not — it was not a vital national interest to the United States, but it was an interest."

When the most powerful military in the world is called to put steel on target, there needs to be a good reason for it. Americans are being called to KILL PEOPLE! No one should take that lightly! If the mission isn't clear to Americans, it probably isn't clear to the rest of the world either. This does not help our efforts to encourage the Muslim or Arab population that we aren't at war with them as a people. Don't get me wrong, I could not care less what other countries think about why we do stuff. We're the greatest country on the planet and we'll do whatever we want. But, in the process of doing what we want, the purpose, direction, and motivation shouldn't be a mystery. Again, go read JD Pendry.