Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Trump's Secret War Plans

Trump's argument that he is keeping the numbers and plans secret so that the enemy does not learn of our plans is bullshit.  Let me count the ways:
  1. The Taliban could count C17s just as the Viet Cong counted helicopters.  The Taliban is not a dumb organization.
  2. The Taliban can observe our bases and count that way.
  3. The Taliban can get a copy of the next supplemental appropriation bill and do the math (divided by roughly $1million to get the number of soldiers).
  4. While the specific operational plan of the day may benefit from secrecy to surprise the adversary, the larger strategy does not benefit from surprise in the same way. Think about D-Day: we didn't tell the Germans which day or where, but they sure as hell knew there would be a second front (ok, third or fourth front, depending on how you count) somewhere.  
  5. It allows this government to avoid having a clear strategy or plan.  
  6. It denies Congress the chance to oversee and ask tough questions of the generals. At least in public.  The generals would have to respond to Congress's questions since, Trump may not know this, Congress co-owns the US military.  Ooops. Better to have the debate in public than in secret so that voters can then hold the administration accountable.  Oh, wait, maybe that is the point.
  7. It allows Trump to delegate all responsibility to the military when civilian control of the military is crucial for democracy to operate.
I am sure I am forgetting stuff so suggest away and I will update.

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