Is This Mic On: Robert Gates and America’s Armed Forces

In a great speech in late September, SecDef Gates dazzled recent Duke graduates with his humor, antidotes, and reflections on America’s armed forces.

Just an tidbit of SecComdy’s HUMRINT:

For the undergraduates here, I know you’re well-accustomed to the challenge of staying awake through long lectures.  I promise I won’t test your endurance too much today.  I’m reminded of the time when George Bernard Shaw told a famous orator he had 15 minutes to speak.  The orator protested, “How can I possibly tell them all I know in 15 minutes?”  Shaw replied, “I advise you to speak slowly”.

He also mentioned Eric Greitens who has a unbelievable RIDONKCULOUS resume. But his main point was for all Americans, especially those from L337 institutions, to consider answering the call to service for a variety of reasons:

But beyond the hardship and heartbreak – and they are real – there is another side to military service.  That is the opportunity to be given extraordinary responsibility at a young age – not just for lives of your troops, but for missions and decisions that may change the course of history.  In addition to being in the fight, our young military leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, have to one degree or another found themselves dealing with development, governance, agriculture, and diplomacy.  They’ve done all this at an age when many of their peers are reading spreadsheets and making photocopies (HD: LOLOLOL).  And that is why, I should add, they are often in such high demand with future employers and go on to do great things – in scholarship, in government, in business – in every walk of life.

Absolutely: “The all-volunteer uniformed services now represent less than 1 percent of the American population, but they’re carrying 100 percent of the battle.”

If we are mark’d to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.

For Those in D.C.: “Diplomacy.Defense.Development: A Symposium on Complex Operations”

Alas, other obligations prevent the HD from attending, but the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy event looks great.

Start Time:	May 25, 2010 – 11:30pm
End Time:	May 26, 2010 – 1:00am
Speaker(s):	Ambassador John Herbst (Moderator), Blair Glencorse, Joshua Gross, Walker Hardy, Victor L. Marsh II, Matthew Parin, Maria Placht, Rachel Posner
Event Fees:	none

11:30pm huh? Nothing like a little late night diplomacy!

NYTimes: Obama Offers Strategy Based in Diplomacy

Article here. Counterpoint to the use of soft power and diplomacy is handled nicely by Charles Krauthammer in this article from July 2008.

However, it is tougher to show overt successes in diplomacy whereas military success is easier to see.

From the current failures in Zimbabwe, Burma, Sudan and “other godforsaken places”, one could add North Korea and Iran to the mix.

Krauthammer argues for successes in Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, but Afghanistan now leaves much to be determined.

Cutting the Pentagon’s Budget

SecDef Robert Gates is talking about the necessity of cutting the Pentagon’s budget.

Blast from the past:

and from the inscription on the book Freedom (TM):

“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.” — Theodore Roosevelt, 1906