[Vision2020] Military Chief Warns Troops About Politics

[Chasuk]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/us/politics/26military.html?ei=5124&en=7ddd37ca6482b969&ex=1369454400&partner=digg&exprod=digg&pagewanted=print

By THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has written an
unusual open letter to all those in uniform, warning them to stay out
of politics as the nation approaches a presidential election in which
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be a central, and certainly
divisive, issue.

"The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all
ways," wrote the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation's
highest-ranking officer. "It is and must always be a neutral
instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway."

Admiral Mullen's essay appears in the coming issue of Joint Force
Quarterly, an official military journal that is distributed widely
among the officer corps.

The essay is the first Admiral Mullen has written for the journal as
chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and veteran officers said they could not
remember when a similar "all-hands" letter had been issued to remind
military personnel to remain outside, if not above, contentious
political debate.

The essay can be seen as a reflection of the deep concern among senior
officers that the military, which is paying the highest price in
carrying out national security policy, may be drawn into politicking
this year.

The war in Iraq has already exceeded the length of World War II and is
the nation's longest conflict fought with an all-volunteer military
since the Revolutionary War.

In particular, members of the Joint Chiefs have expressed worries this
election year about the influence of retired officers who advise
political campaigns, who have publicly called for a change in policy
or who serve as television commentators on the war.

Among the most outspoken were those who joined the so-called generals'
revolt in 2006 demanding the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld, as well as former officers who have written books
attacking the Bush administration's planning for and execution of the
war in Iraq.

While retired officers have full rights to political activism, their
colleagues still in uniform fear its effect on those trying to carry
out the mission, especially more junior officers and enlisted
personnel. Active-duty military personnel are prohibited from taking
part in partisan politics.

"As the nation prepares to elect a new president," Admiral Mullen
wrote, "we would all do well to remember the promises we made: to obey
civilian authority, to support and defend the Constitution and to do
our duty at all times."

"Keeping our politics private is a good first step," he added. "The
only things we should be wearing on our sleeves are our military
insignia."

Admiral Mullen said he was inspired to write the essay after receiving
a constant stream of legitimate, if troubling, questions while
visiting military personnel around the world. He said their questions
included, "What if a Democrat wins?" and, "What will that do to the
mission in Iraq?" and, "Do you think it's better for one party or
another to have the White House?"

"I am not suggesting that military professionals abandon all personal
opinions about modern social or political issues," Admiral Mullen
wrote. "What I am suggesting — indeed, what the nation expects — is
that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned
to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no
place in cockpit or camp or conference room."

He noted that "part of the deal we made when we joined up was to
willingly subordinate our individual interests to the greater good of
protecting vital national interests."