SECDEF Addresses Cadets at West Point

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates spoke to USMA Cadets Friday on the future of the Army and US Military:

Looking ahead, though, in the competition for tight defense dollars within and between the services, the Army also must confront the reality that the most plausible, high-end scenarios for the U.S. military are primarily naval and air engagements – whether in Asia, the Persian Gulf, or elsewhere. The strategic rationale for swift-moving expeditionary forces, be they Army or Marines, airborne infantry or special operations, is self-evident given the likelihood of counterterrorism, rapid reaction, disaster response, or stability or security force assistance missions. But in my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should “have his head examined,” as General MacArthur so delicately put it.

Read the speech here.

Criticizing COIN

NYT reviewed Bing West's The Wrong War, which offers and account of the U.S. Military's COIN strategy from the soldiers' perspective:

“The Wrong War” amounts to a crushing and seemingly irrefutable critique of the American plan in Afghanistan. It should be read by anyone who wants to understand why the war there is so hard... [The] basic argument can be summed up like this: American soldiers and Marines are very good at counterinsurgency, and they are breaking their hearts, and losing their lives, doing it so hard. But the central premise of counterinsurgency doctrine holds that if the Americans sacrifice on behalf of the Afghan government, then the Afghan people will risk their lives for that same government in return. This isn’t happening. What we have created instead, West shows, is a vast culture of dependency: Americans are fighting and dying, while the Afghans by and large stand by and do nothing to help them. Afghanistan’s leaders, from the presidential palace in Kabul to the river valleys in the Pashtun heartland, are enriching themselves, often criminally, on America’s largesse. The Taliban, whatever else they do, fight hard and for very little reward. American soldiers, handcuffed by strict rules of engagement, have surrendered the initiative to their enemies. Most important, the Afghan people, though almost certainly opposed to a Taliban redux, are equally wary of both the Americans and their Afghan “leaders.” They will happily take the riches lavished on them by the Americans, but they will not risk their lives for either the Americans or their own government. The Afghans are waiting to see who prevails, but prevailing is impossible without their help.

Read the review here.

Extra Credit – Essay: NCLS

Extra Credit – NCLS Essay [25 pts]

Due: T19 (1 Mar 11)

ASSIGNMENT: This year’s theme for NCLS is “Strength Within, Leadership Throughout.” The allusion to virtue ethics should be apparent, as we’ve just finished that section of the course. As you know, there’s a rich tradition associated with the term virtue; it serves as a link to our cultural roots and calls to mind an ideal that warriors have preserved for centuries. Compare that to the values promoted by other areas of society, and you get a sense for how virtue is highly regarded and sought after, but also extremely fragile. In the words of Marcus Aurelius (and Richard Harris), “There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish…”

We host the NCLS each year in part to help preserve our sense of virtue. The speakers have all, in one sense or another, embodied different virtues to overcome adversity in life. While attending NCLS events, consider these two questions:

1. What virtues did the speaker mention or allude to during his/her presentation? How were the virtues acquired and/or applied? What specific character traits did you observe? Has the speaker adapted a virtue to contemporary life? Is the virtue enduring or has it changed over time?

2. How can contemporary leaders preserve a sense of virtue? When addressing this topic, think about how technology and instant communication have changed our notions of virtue. When mistakes and scandalous behavior are posted somewhere minutes after they occur, does that affect our expectations of today’s leaders?

Select one of these topics and write a two-page (500 word) essay answering the question.

Your assessment should be based on what you hear and learn at the NCLS lectures. If the speaker doesn’t sufficiently addresses the topic you choose, ask them to in the Q & A. (Simple questions would be, “what virtues do you feel helped you during…?” “Is it harder to maintain virtue in today’s instant media culture?” etc.). You may critique the speaker(s) presentation or response, agree, disagree, etc. Remember that your own argument (your answer to the questions) should be based on solid reasons/premises.

GRADING: This assignment will be graded on your ability to analyze the NCLS Speaker’s position (10 pts.), build a solid argument of your own (10 pts.), and communicate both clearly (5 pts.).

ALTERNATE: For those who won’t be here for NCLS, contact me for an alternate assignment.

Navy Grants Acad Grad Conscientious Objector Status

"Reversing two earlier denials, the U.S Navy has granted conscientious objector status to Michael Izbicki, a Naval Academy graduate most recently stationed at the Naval Submarine School in Groton... After being assigned to submarine training, he was given a routine psychological exam. Among the several hundred questions, he was asked if he could launch a nuclear missile. 'It was the first time anybody had really put it so bluntly,' he said. 'At that point I thought to myself, I couldn't.' That answer flagged him for further interviews with a Navy psychologist, who recommended that he talk to a Navy chaplain. After numerous meetings, Izbicki said the chaplain suggested that he might be a conscientious objector — a term he only vaguely knew — and gave him an application to study. He eventually decided that his Christian beliefs forbid him from killing. He initially hoped he could continue his career in a noncombat role, but ultimately decided he could not support war in any way. 'I believe that Jesus Christ calls all men to love each other, under all circumstances,' Izbicki wrote in his application for discharge. 'I believe his teaching forbids the use of violence.'"

Read the story here.

GR Essay Questions

Are We There Yet?

Gender equality vs. religious principles at a high school wrestling tournament... even though the match was forfeited.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa high school wrestler who was one of the favorites to win his weight class defaulted on his first-round state tournament match rather than face one of the first girls to ever qualify for the event.

Joel Northup, a home-schooled sophomore who was 35-4 wrestling for Linn-Mar High this season, said in a statement that he doesn’t feel it would be right for him to wrestle Cedar Falls freshman Cassy Herkelman. Herkelman, who was 20-13 entering the tournament, and fellow 112-pounder Ottumwa sophomore Megan Black, who was 25-13, made history by being the first girls to qualify for the state tournament. Black was pinned quickly in her opening round match.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan and their accomplishments. However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times,” wrote Northup. “As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa.”

Expanded story at Fox; opinion pieces: kudos for sticking to principles; give the girl a chance.

"Colin Powell Demands Answers Over WMD lies"

Colin Powell has called on the CIA and Pentagon to explain why they failed to alert him to the unreliability of a key source behind claims of Saddam Hussein's bio-weapons capability. The source, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi or "Curveball" as his US and German handlers called him, admitted fabricating evidence of Iraq's secret biological weapons program

Read the story here.

George Tenet, then head of the CIA, replied to the revelation on his personal website with an excerpt from his 2007 memoir, " At the Center of the Storm:"

Curve Ball appeared to be an invaluable asset. He wasn’t. As the Silberman-Robb Commission, a presidential panel looking into Iraq intelligence shortcomings, would report in March 2005, sirens should have been going off all over the place. Whether they were or not is a matter of fierce debate.

"Eagles Over Wolves in a Rout"

Earlier in the course, we posed the question: is there one part of society better than the rest?

The question arose from the discussion of G.F. Will's desire to see a gap between the military and society, from the fact that the military is drawn from society, and from the (corresponding) lack of consensus on whether we're actually better than the society we serve.

Here's one answer. A 13-year-old named Nadin Khoury was bullied and beaten by a gang of kids at school. He stood up. Read the story (ESPN), watch the interview (ABC). He motivated three NFL players to back him up, made Whoopi Goldberg cry, and is being recruited by Valley Forge Military Academy. He wants to be a Marine. Not a bad start.

DFPY Courses

Here's the standing schecule for philosophy courses at USAFA. Note the Phil 495 course is a special topics course/seminar and will cover different subjects. Also, a Phil 499 can be developed in conjunction with DFPY faculty to broaden and extend studies in any given area.

Being a Responsible Chemist

The 2007 national meeting of the American Chemical Society included a symposium on the ethics, policy and politics surrounding the chemist's profession. Topics included defining what it means to be an ethical chemist, teaching ethics, dealing with conflicts of interest, conducting responsible research and issues involving federal funding.

Presentations from the symposium are available on the ACS website here.

Ethics of Engineering

The National Society of Professional Engineers has developed an ethical code to promote honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity. The code is also designed to ensure its adherents are dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. In its fundamental principles, the codecalls on engineers to:

1. Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
2. Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5. Avoid deceptive acts.
6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.

More at NSPE's Ethics page here.

Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Moral Reasoning in Military Officers

"Military operations often entail sleep deprivation. Such operations also involve a multitude of moral judgments, ranging from managerial decisions to extremely difficult choices, such as whether to attack insurgents in a setting surrounded by civilians. Great importance is therefore assigned to morals in military operational and leadership doctrines as well as in contemporary leadership theory. In the wake of moral scandals such as Enron and the Abu Grahib prison abuse scandal in Iraq, leadership research has shown increasing interest in contextual antecedents of leaders’ moral behavior. Based on observations, it has been reported that sleep deprivation appears to foster laissez-faire leadership."

Read the report here.

"A Little Philosophy Is A Dangerous Thing"

“Philosophy,” according to Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, in their new book The Grand Design, “is dead.” It has “not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics, [and] scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.”

A philosopher (living, as far as we can tell) responds here.