The Military Is Dominating U.S. Foreign Policy

Nathan, James A., USA TODAY

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ONE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT that the long eclipse of the State Department ended with the Cold War. During that era, those agencies responsible for commanding coercive instruments grew in importance. The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA were the "players," not "relics" like the Department of State. With the Cold War over, one might have guessed that the need for country expertise, language skills, and the art of diplomacy would resurface.

Yet, even as the Cold War drew its last breaths, the ascendancy of the military persisted. Indeed, in 1991, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin seemed willing to best the State Department in peace as the Defense Department had been doing ably during the Cold War. When Aspin's stock soon fell, his deputy, William Perry, was promoted to Secretary. He proved an even more forceful advocate of …

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Publication information: Article title: The Military Is Dominating U.S. Foreign Policy. Contributors: Nathan, James A. - Author. Magazine title: USA TODAY. Volume: 124. Issue: 2612 Publication date: May 1996. Page number: 21. © 2009 Society for the Advancement of Education. COPYRIGHT 1996 Gale Group.

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