‘If the statesman decides upon war which the soldier knows can only lead to national catastrophe, then the soldier, after presenting his opinion, must fall in and make the best of a bad situation’

However, it seems to me that part of the contract of civilian control over the military implies also civilian proprietary care for the armed forces. I don’t see that. What I see is an attitude that (a) this is a professional army, (b) they get paid to do what they’re doing, (c) they should get on with it and quit their complaining, (d) we support them – see, we got our ribbons up on our cars, and (e), you go to war with civilian leaders you have, not the civilian leaders you might want at a future time.

Our feckless civilian Congressional leadership and gullible civilian electorate has been constitutionally derelict in their proprietary responsibilities.