Excerpt from Statement of a Proper Military Policy for the United States
The evolution of national military policies. National policies are evolved and are expanded as the Nation grows. They reflect the national sense of responsibility and also the national ambitions. They constitute the doctrine underlying acts of statesmanship and diplomacy. A nations military policy is the national doctrine of self-preservation. The world is never without virile, capable, and progressive nations, the circumstances of whose development have imbued them with the belief that their vital interests demand an active aggressive policy. They are forced to resort to universal service in the effort to fulfill, at any cost, what they conceive to be their destiny. In the United States the development of the Nation has proceeded under an environment so favorable that there is no well-defined public opinion in regard to what constitutes an adequate military policy. Heretofore isolation, combined with the necessity of preserving the balance of power, has been a sufficient guaranty against strong hostile expeditions from Europe or Asia. The safeguard of isolation no longer exists. The oceans, once barriers, are now easy avenues of approach by reason of the number, speed, and carrying capacity of ocean-going vessels. The increasing radii of action of the submarine, the aeroplane, and wireless telegraphy all supplement ocean transport in placing both our Atlantic and Pacific coasts within the sphere of hostile activities of oversea nations.
The great mass of the public does not yet realize the effect of these changed conditions upon our scheme of defense.
Another thing that militates against the evolution of a sound military policy for our country is the erroneous conclusion drawn by the people from our past experiences in war. In developing such a policy victory is often a less trustworthy guide than defeat. We have been plunged into many wars and have ultimately emerged successfully from each of them. The general public points to these experiences as an indication that our military policy has been and still continues to be sound. That this is not really the belief of those in authority is shown by the fact that each war of importance has been followed by an official investigation of our military system and the policy under which it operated.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Statement of a Proper Military Policy for the United States (Classic Reprint)