Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave a speech at Notre Dame’s commencement yesterday making this argument:
If history – and religion – teach us anything, it is that there will always be evil in the world, people bent on aggression, oppression, satisfying their greed for wealth and power and territory, or determined to impose an ideology based on the subjugation of others and the denial of liberty to men and women. More than any other Secretary of Defense, I have been a strong advocate of soft power – of the critical importance of diplomacy and development as fundamental components of our foreign policy and national security. But make no mistake, the ultimate guarantee against the success of aggressors, dictators, and terrorists in the 21st century, as in the 20th, is hard power –the size, strength, and global reach of the United States military.
Wherever you stand on the effectiveness of military force against terrorists, Gates’ statement that the “ultimate guaranteee” against the success of dictators is the size and strength of the U.S. military isn’t really true. In cases where the dictator is an ally of the United States, the U.S. military is a factor in ensuring the continuity of their rule. The president implicitly acknowledged this in his speech last week when he said ” it will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy,” a statement that essentially admits that this has not always been U.S. policy. Otherwise it wouldn’t actually represent any kind of change in U.S. policy worth making a speech about. I think it’s an impediment to the wise application to U.S. military force to assert that its use is, by definition, always a good thing.
