Mission Unaccomplished: Describing Failing US Military as 'Awesome'
Praising the awesomeness of that military has become twenty-first-century America's can't miss applause line.
Andrew Bacevich
December 21, 2021 by TomDispatch
Professional sports is a cutthroat business. Succeed and the people running the show reap rich rewards. Fail to meet expectations and you get handed your walking papers. American-style war in the twenty-first century is quite a different matter.
Of course, war is not a game. The stakes on the battlefield are infinitely higher than on the playing field. When wars go wrong, "We'll show 'em next year—just you wait!" is seldom a satisfactory response.
At least, it shouldn't be. Yet somehow, the American people, our political establishment, and our military have all fallen into the habit of shrugging off or simply ignoring disappointing outcomes. A few years ago, a serving army officer of unusual courage published an essay—in Armed Forces Journal no less—in which he charged that "a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war."
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/12/21/mission-unaccomplished-describing-failing-us-military-awesome
