The Limits of Power

This morning on my way to the gym I heard an interview on NPR with Andrew Bacevich, Sr.  The interview was about our current war with Afghanistan and whether or not this is a necessary, justified or winnable war.  His thoughts were, unequivocally, no.  But make no mistake, he is no tree hugging, anti-military peacenik.   

Andrew Bacevich, Sr. is a Vietnam veteran and retired army Colonel.  He holds a Ph.D from Princeton in American Diplomatic History and is currently teaching history and international relations at Boston University.  He lost a son in Iraq.

Although he has published several books, I had never heard of him until I saw discussing his then new book, The Limits of Power:  The End of American Exceptionalism, on PBS on Bill Moyers Journal last fall, right smack in the middle of the Presidential campaigns.  I watched him spellbound for an hour.  I was awed by his knowledge and his thoughtfulness.  The discussion was centered almost entirely on American foreign policy.  I agreed with him on every point.  Imagine my surprise when, somewhere towards the end of the interview, he referred to himself a conservative.  My only thought was that he is a conservative in the true sense of the word:  someone who conserves.  Not a xenophobic and fearful fundamentalist who's allowed his beliefs to be hijacked by religious idealogues.

I have been a fan of his ever since.  

He challenged the common belief in this country that in order to remain safe we must remain in a constant state of war.  It is such a part of our thinking that it never occurred to me that in many respects, as far as foreign policy are concerned, John McCain and Barack Obama were almost identical.  McCain wanted to continue war in Iraq, which Obama thought was a mistake.  But rather than end all of the wars, Obama thought we should start another one in Afghanistan.  This idea that we must stay at war seems to go largely unchallenged.  Indeed, I never heard anyone ask either candidate if we should bring all the troops home and work on our security here.  I never heard anyone challenge the idea that we should, or could, "fix" Iraq or Afghanistan.  Or that our national interests may not necessarily be served by going to war with them.  

Andrew Bacevich, Sr. did.  And for that I have the utmost respect for him.

Read The Limits of Power.  It is a slim book, but packed with food for thought.  I read it nearly a year ago and I think about to this day.  In a world full of so much disposable information, that is the highest compliment I can pay it.