Russia’s underperforming military (and ours)
Why do Russian failures in Ukraine attract so much smug commentary, while American military underperformance gets written off?
Andrew J. Bacevich is the President of the Quincy Institute. He grew up in Indiana, graduated from West Point and Princeton, served in the army, became an academic, and is now a writer. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than a dozen books, among them: The New America Militarism (2005), The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008), Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (2010), America’s War for the Greater Middle East (2016), and The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory (January 2020). He is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University and has held fellowships at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the American Academy in Berlin.
Why do Russian failures in Ukraine attract so much smug commentary, while American military underperformance gets written off?
Something much bigger than POTUS — call it the MIC or the deep state — has de facto veto power on all matters related to national security.
Why is the New York Times aghast that the United States has apparently lost its influence in the tiny Pacific island to the Chinese?
After reading his latest on Ukraine, I’m grateful his bid for president fell short. He lacks basic qualities for the job, like common sense.