Episode 24: Political Science, Ethics, and the Military Professional

In this short speech, delivered while serving as a student at the U.S. Army War College (Class of 2015), I argue that the military professional has an obligation to help policymakers reverse our nation's repeated strategic shortfalls. One way to reverse these shortfalls is to improve our intellectual preparation by consulting the science that relates to our profession. Today, an exciting group of bold political scientists is doing cutting-edge work on the very question that confounds military professionals: How to understand the interplay between violence on the one hand and politics, economics, society, culture, and ethics on the other? Most importantly, we, as military professionals, have an ethical obligation to read the science. The problem is that students in professional military education do not rigorously study the causal claims posited by such scholars as Stathis Kalyvas, Patricia Sullivan, Severine Autesserre, Fotini Christia, Paul Staniland, Erica Chenoweth, Kristin Bakke, Barbara F. Walter, and many, many others.

[@huantexas1]

Sir, would you be so kind as to list out the PoliSci SMEs you mention at min. 4:55, and any recommended publications of same. Thank you. D.O.L.

[@santaclausewitz1891]

The problem is we are fighting all the wars, and this necessarily creates a backlash. With respect to the UN and NATO we've done almost all the fighting. The Korean War - the US did all the fighting. Vietnam - US. The Cold War - mostly US. Containing Communist China - US. Iraq War 1 - US. Bosnia - US. Iraq War 2 - US. North Korea now and ISIS (the latter with regards to Western powers) again - almost all fought/directed, if not all fought by the US. Stopping Russia at the Ukraine - again mostly the responsibility of the US. Dealing with Iran's nukes - again - responsibility goes to the US. We are over-extended.
I understand we had to defend Europe after World War 2 when it was blown to bits in the face of Soviet aggression. That was eighty years ago. Are we supposed to fight all of their wars forever? If so, I want tribute.

[@santaclausewitz1891]

The United Nations ordered us into Korea. And Vietnam was in response to the fact that the USSR took half of Europe, in violation of Treaty, and further turned China and Korea Red. This is after sending thousands of spies into the US! What were we supposed to do? Let them take over the entire world - and then eventually come after us?! They promised to "Bury" us in public at a meeting in the United Nations!