Danny de Gracia
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HONOLULU, August 16, 2012 — Carl von Clausewitz warned, “The greater and more powerful the motives of a War, the more it affects the whole existence of a people.”
The highly controversial OPSEC viral video (above), “Dishonorable Disclosures,” is the talk of social networks and brings to public attention an issue that has been postponed for far too long: America’s politicians need to recognize that the right and proper role of the U.S. military is for defense and national emergencies only, not political gain.
While politicians in air conditioned rooms jockey for electoral capital, someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter is wearing the uniform and in harm’s way on behalf of those politicians.
Our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen obey the orders of their Commander-in-Chief without questioning the motives of their mission, and they are prepared when necessary to make the ultimate sacrifice. Because they are unable to speak up when the injustices of capricious politics endanger them, it is the duty and responsibility of the American people to call their elected leadership to account.
Every American citizen should be outraged over President Obama’s “spiking the football” tactics of using military operations for political prestige. For every family that has received a folded flag in exchange for a loved one lost in the line of duty, the belief that those who served and died did so for a meaningful purpose that meant something to the defense of America is all they have.
When our President claims credit for military operations or leaks information to the media for political gain, lives are put unnecessarily at risk, and those who fell in battle are dishonored.
Congress should take action at once to investigate the scope of intelligence and military leaks made by the Obama Administration. It is unacceptable that an entire national security apparatus can be circumvented at any given point in time at the simple whim of an individual.
We are still a nation of laws, not of men, and Congress should hold President Obama accountable for his failure to uphold the laws of this Republic.
Our men and women in uniform constitute the greatest military that has ever been formed in the history of mankind. They serve under oath to protect and defend our country unselfishly, above reproach and above politics. Their Commander-in-Chief should at all times lead by example and be worthy of the forces he commands.
As it is written in an old DoD pamphlet entitled The Fighting Man’s Code, “Every American citizen – whether in and out of uniform – must share the responsibility for preserving our freedom and our way of life … The mental and moral weapons are supplied by the strength, will and minds of the American people. So long as the weapons, whatever they be, are wielded by men of honor and intergrity, who believe in – and practice – the principles upon which this Nation was founded, so long will our Nation be free and invincible.”
America’s fighting men and women deserve this much and more from their political leaders. It’s time we held those leaders accountable.
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