The Pentagon Labyrinth

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Essay 2 “Penetrating the Pentagon” by George C. Wilson The marching orders Executive Editor Benjamin C. Bradlee of The Washington Post gave me back in 1966 when he hired me to cover national defense for his newspaper are even more important for editors, reporters, congressional staffers, lawmakers, the secretary of defense and his deputies, and even the president of the United States to follow today than they were then: “The Pentagon spends all our f------ money but we never get a story out of there. Go break some loose. Find out where all that money is going.” Following the money pays dividends not only to editors and reporters, which was Bradlee’s interest, but to officials in Congress, the Pentagon, the White House, the defense industry and think tanks scattered around the country. Counting the money going for homeland defense and nuclear weapons, the total amount the president spends each year to protect Americans at home and pursue foreign policy objectives abroad with military force, is more than $1 trillion. Yet we spend much more today than during the Cold War with the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact, which compelled us to buy and deploy forces roughly twice the size of today’s. Two wars the United States is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are against foes with no standing army, no navy worth worrying about and no air forces. Where is all that taxpayer money going and why? Those are questions that persons in the news media, Congress, the Pentagon and White House should be asking every day. Sadly, Congress has all but forfeited its powers written in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution to “provide for the common defense” and “to declare war.” Not since Congress declared war in 1941 in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor have the lawmakers, hired hands of voters living in their states and Congressional districts after all, exercised those Constitutional powers. The legislative branch since 1941 has allowed the executive branch, in the person of both Democratic and Republican presidents, to send young American men and women into battles abroad where many tens of thousands have been killed and wounded. Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 in hopes of getting back some of the powers it foolishly gave away to the president. But this has not happened. In my view, the lawmakers are
George C. Wilson | 13 guilty of malfeasance or nonfeasance, but few in the government or media are demanding accountability. Few Americans realize that the United States has military forces in 150 different countries around the world. The Pentagon puts out a press release every year disclosing this far-flung presence and the number of service people in each country. But only a few Pentagon watchers notice this global reach of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Even fewer question, challenge or think about the implications of this extensive American military presence abroad. And I doubt if the Pentagon’s press release on foreign deployments includes American commandos in uniform and the CIA’s hired guns who are all around the world assassinating suspected terrorists and hostile tribal leaders. It is only a matter of time in my view before these raids on the ground and from the air provoke retaliatory attacks on the American homeland. If this indeed happens, Americans will find themselves with less freedom of movement and will probably have to carry identification papers with them at all times. One lawmaker who has indeed thought and worried about our extended American military presence abroad is Chairman Bob Filner, D – Calif., of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in the 111 th Congress. This is what he is worried about, as recorded in an interview I had with him in his Washington office in 2010: “I was trained in ancient history, and I taught a lot of ancient history. The Athenian Empire always struck me as a parallel to our situation today. They started off as a democracy and because they expanded and took over other countries, what happened at home killed them. They ended up losing everything.” Ever since Sept. 11, the United States has been in what some defense specialists term “The Long War” against terrorists and terrorism. Retired Army Col. Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor at Boston University and author of several books decrying our overextended military, is representative of those who believe the United States is shooting itself in the foot. On the other hand, John O. Brennan, President Obama’s counterterrorism advisor, is among those who contend the United States as a matter of self-defense must go after terrorists wherever they show themselves. The poles of their argument: Bacevich. “For the United States after 9/11,” wrote the soldier-scholar in The Limits of Power, 1 “war became a seemingly permanent condition. By and large Americans were slow to grasp the implications 1 Andrew J. Bacevich, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (Metropolitan Books, 2008). See also Bacevich’s new Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War.
Page 2 and 3: The World Security Institute’s Ce
Page 4 and 5: About the Authors Thomas Christie b
Page 6 and 7: security issues for members of the
Page 8 and 9: Table of Contents PREFACE . . . . .
Page 10 and 11: Preface This handbook aims to help
Page 12 and 13: xx | The Pentagon Labyrinth and for
Page 14 and 15: 2 | Why is This Handbook Necessary?
Page 22 and 23: 10 | Why is This Handbook Necessary
Page 26 and 27: 14 | Penetrating the Pentagon of a
Page 28 and 29: 16 | Penetrating the Pentagon years
Page 30 and 31: 18 | Penetrating the Pentagon Washi
Page 32 and 33: 20 | Penetrating the Pentagon Back
Page 34 and 35: 22 | Penetrating the Pentagon weapo
Page 36 and 37: 24 | Learning About Defense In the
Page 38 and 39: 26 | Learning About Defense with ou
Page 40 and 41: Essay 4 “Congressional Oversight:
Page 42 and 43: 30 | Congressional Oversight: Willi
Page 56 and 57: 44 | Careerism For example, Gen. Ji
Page 58 and 59: 46 | Careerism responsibility for o
Page 60 and 61: 48 | Careerism brigadier general. Y
Page 62 and 63: 50 | Careerism careerist- and agend
Page 64 and 65: 52 | Careerism Accountability Offic
Page 66 and 67: 54 | Careerism 75 percent) are of E
Page 68 and 69: 56 | Careerism In sum, our armed fo
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62 | Confused Alarms of Struggle an
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76 | Follow the Money Why We Spend
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78 | Follow the Money dangerous the
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80 | Follow the Money billion now b
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82 | Follow the Money Clearly, impe
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102 | Evaluating Weapons: Sorting t
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114 | Developing, Buying and Fieldi
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Suggested Contacts, Readings and We
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The Pentagon Labyrinth aims to help
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