Washington DC - Here's the problem with most debates today. One point of view is expressed as as an extreme binarism by supporters, detractors and the media who portray them while the opposing opinion is positioned in equa...lly extreme, foreboding terms. The problem is that the truth involving complex issues is rarely as simple as this "either-or," "my way or the highway" approach to argumentation.
The US Army finds itself in such a debate these days. On the one hand, some analysts and pundits argue on one extreme, as quoted in today's Washington Post, "that new technology has rendered large ground forces increasingly irrelevant." In response, Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno says "there are a lot of intellectuals who believe that land power is obsolete," which is a "naive" and "dangerous thought."
Too often, advocates such as Odierno take an opposing view and reduce it to ridiculousness. No serious observer thinks that land power is going away. On the other hand, no fair analyst can dismiss the role of technology in reducing land forces and substantially changing their composition. The difficult truth is often found in the serious work of optimizing relationships between two binarisms. In this case, that means identifying and applying the right mix of human and technological power to best meet each circumstance. The media and ideologues do us a great disservice by covering these debates in such oversimplified terms.
Twitter @jessicamcwade
The US Army finds itself in such a debate these days. On the one hand, some analysts and pundits argue on one extreme, as quoted in today's Washington Post, "that new technology has rendered large ground forces increasingly irrelevant." In response, Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno says "there are a lot of intellectuals who believe that land power is obsolete," which is a "naive" and "dangerous thought."
Too often, advocates such as Odierno take an opposing view and reduce it to ridiculousness. No serious observer thinks that land power is going away. On the other hand, no fair analyst can dismiss the role of technology in reducing land forces and substantially changing their composition. The difficult truth is often found in the serious work of optimizing relationships between two binarisms. In this case, that means identifying and applying the right mix of human and technological power to best meet each circumstance. The media and ideologues do us a great disservice by covering these debates in such oversimplified terms.
Twitter @jessicamcwade