There are reasons to be skeptical. Proponents of a standing army are forgetting that governments have used standing armies, not just at home, but abroad as well. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Soldiering is unique, Akam informs us. The means of defence agst. What is intriguing about all these frequently chaotic episodes is the tendency of some units to embellish stories about their experiences on the Iraqi frontline. In fact, they dont even consider them to be tyrannies. They opposed not only a regular standing army, but also a federalized militia that would serve the same function. With the full support of the Pentagon and the CIA, Pinochet used his troops, which faithfully and obediently followed his orders, to round up tens of thousands of people, torture them, abuse them, and execute and assassinate thousands of them. The National Archives. 6.) To see what I mean, lets take a look at the introduction of the permanent standing army in 19th century America. Akam also peels back some of the class-based character of the British Army. The renowned anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski observed of tribes that they are essentially groups of people who conjointly exercise a type of culture and that they transmit this culture in the same language, according to similar educational principles, and thus they are the unit through which the culture lives and with which a culture dies.. If you don't want to take advantage of the military paying 100% of your tuition while on active duty and giving you upward of $50,000 through the GI Bill to use on active duty or after you get out, then the military is not for you. Such an instrument is a standing army. Some even point to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which limits the power of the national government to use the military for law enforcement purposes. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. ~ Declaration of Independence The opponents of the Constitution, which history has mischaracterized as Anti-Federalists, had numerous reasons for rejecting the proposed Constitution. The idea that peacetime corrodes and ossifies armies, making them less combat effective, is a central tenet of Simon Akam's new book, The Changing of the Guard: The British Army Since 9/11, though what also comes across loud and clear is the debilitating effects of tribalism on what some have referred to as "the world's best little army.". A large standing army is repugnant to republican institutions and a menace to the liberty of our own people. Americans didnt trust the federal government that they were calling into existence with the Constitution. [1] This anti-standing army sentiment motivated colonial opposition to post-French and Indian War British policies, intensified after the Boston Massacre, influenced the writings of most founding fathers, and remained politically relevant well after the Revolutionary War ended. why is it dangerous to have a peacetime army? For example, there was the Pinochet military dictatorship, which the U.S. national-security state helped install into power. Brutus, no. Right in your inbox. Such sentiments may be understandable during wartime, though they inevitably have harmful long-term consequences. Why Oppose Standing Armies? As the new Congress prepares to convene in January, it will face few tasks, if any, more important than adequately funding our nation's defense . Thus, U.S. presidents, the Pentagon, and the CIA have had no reservations about supporting, defending, and training foreign tyrannical regimes. The Library of Congress. Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. GOD has so separated us by an extensive ocean from the rest of mankind, he hath so liberally endowed us with privileges, and so abundantly taught us to esteem them precious, it would be impossible, while we retain our integrity and advert to first principles, for any nation whatever to subdue us. An Economic Model of Indian-White Relations,"the authors accounted for a number of possible contributing factors, such as population change and newly settled land, and concluded the establishment of a standing army during the Mexican War had an independent effect of an increase of almost 12 battles a year. If unquestioned integrity is to remain a cornerstone of the Army profession, senior leaders must aggressively correct this very serious problem. The American war may be dated from this hostile act; a day which marks with infamy the councils of Great Britain. Yet, the Federalist President Washington federalized the militia to suppress the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion, substituting an American army for a British one, and the Union Army occupied the South after the so-called Civil War. Follow him on Twitter: @DrAaronEdwards. 5.) 10. "The means of defense against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Views expressed in this review are his own. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.". The principal methods of eradicating mosquitoes that carry malaria have been drainage especially when followed by cultivation and insecticides. Those cultural changes must happen if the U.S. Army is to remain the best in the world over the next decades and beyond. Foreign military bases and the stationing of troops abroad are for offensive military actions, not defensive ones. Madisons use of the imagery of slavery points to the multiple meanings of that term in the 18th century. Thus may the militia be made the instruments of crushing the last efforts of expiring liberty, of riveting the chains of despotism on their fellow-citizens, and on one another. Watch Professor Whitman Ridgway analyze the Bill of Rights in an Example of Historical Thinking. The president never secured a congressional declaration of war against Iraq, and every soldier, including Williams, knew that. Here's why the US can't stop military and intel members from leaking top-secret documents. Standing armies, after all, often do not only practice defense. More than is generally appreciated, the contact (between Indians and whites) was even friendly, or at least peaceful. You get a scared feeling every time you even think about leaving your hometown. The result is a pattern of pervasive dishonesty, false reporting, and widespread rationalization of cheating across the service. Thats because people dont want to confront what is a very discomforting thought: that a tyrannical regime uses its standing army to carry out and enforce its tyranny. Simon Akam, The Changing of the Guard: The British Army Since 9/11 (Scribe, 2021). DDT and Silent Spring: Fifty years after - JMVH Despite Akams portrayal of strategic defeat and inertia, the British Army has become more open and honest about its past failings in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This was indeed a painful era. American Resistance to a Standing Army - Teachinghistory.org But only a change in U.S. foreign policy can stop the evil that is Americas standing army. If that were to happen, make no mistake about it: The troops will loyally and obediently obey the presidents orders, especially when he tells them that national security is at stake. The Fear of Standing Armies is the Root of the Second Amendment The eleventh one concerns the subject at hand: That the power of organizing, arming and disciplining the militia (the manner of disciplining the militia to be prescribed by Congress) remain with the individual states, and that Congress shall not have authority to call or march any of the militia out of their own state, without the consent of such state, and for such length of time only as such state shall agree. Other members of the founding generation worried that an armed, professional force represented an untenable threat to the liberty of the people generally. This was sprayed on the inside walls of houses where the Anopheles mosquito rests after feeding. The Quartering Act, which required colonists to provide housing and provisions for troops in their own buildings, was another obnoxious symbol of the corrupting power represented by the army. Here's what you need to know. Their column appears in War on the Rocks every third Tuesday. The places the United States must police are, in . Williams mindset reflects perfectly the military mindset the mindset of standing armies. 2020 was THE year to learn valuable lessons in several fields of knowledge, this was one of those lessons. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. As long as the army stands, peace is unlikely to be achieved or long-lasting. LewRockwell.com and from Except where otherwise noted, the content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 License. The experience with professional armies during the 40 years before the Constitutional Convention, and the values that sprang from those experiences, helps explain why the founders never seriously considered maintaining the Continental Army past the end of the War of Independence. Signing up for this newsletter means you agree to our data policy, safety paperwork required for a weekend pass. Cultural standards that value process over substance, muffle the ideas of junior personnel, and disparage education and critical thinking must be eradicated and replaced with new norms that reward willingness to think creatively, innovate, and change. But such constraints outside combat can prevent Army leaders at all levels from hearing different points of view and being able to consider the widest range of options, which they need in order to innovate, adapt, and make good decisions in a fast-changing environment. A Peacetime Army Goes to War - War on the Rocks Most everyone knows that the primary reason that our American ancestors insisted on the passage of the Second Amendment was to ensure against tyranny. The United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award recognises the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles within the Security Council Resolution 1325. The Constitution and the Standing Army - CounterPunch.org Its not that white settlers always felt warm feelings toward native Americans (or vice versa). Army Clause | The Heritage Guide to the Constitution This is the more remarkable, because even when the distresses of the late war and the evident disaffection of many citizens of that description inflamed our passions, and when every person who was obliged to risk his own life must have been exasperated against such as on any account kept back from the common danger, yet even then, when outrage and violence might have been expected, the rights of conscience were held sacred. The brigade known as the Desert Rats, the same one that had excelled in training in Canada, had taken the city in a major assault less than three weeks after the March 2003 onset of operations in Iraq. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. We can put you in touch with recruiters from the different military branches. why is it dangerous to have a peacetime army? The difference between peacetime and wartime soldiers - LinkedIn But how many Americans give careful thought to what tyranny actually means and how it is carried out? Ukraine war latest: Boy, 6, cries as sister killed in Russian attack Document 23. He twice refers to standing armies in his first essay: It has ever been held that standing armies in times of peace are dangerous to a free country; and no observation seems to contain more reason in it. Few, if any, of them is going to question the constitutionality of such orders at the height of a major crisis any more than they did the presidents order to invade Iraq. Bill. Their position stemmed from three main beliefs: a general skepticism of and opposition to standing armies, a commitment to citizen militias as a check on despotic power, and, finally, the belief that a virtuous population owned property and bore arms. "He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures." ~ Declaration of Independence The opponents of the Constitution, which history has mischaracterized as Anti-Federalists, had numerous reasons for rejecting the proposed Constitution. As a preview for Strategic Outpost readers, we offer the six most important recommendations for changing Army culture that will appear in our report: Warfare is inherently dangerous, and especially so on land. While its ideal purpose is to create peace, we do not live in a world of ideals. Elbridge Gerry, Fifth Vice President of the United States. They estimated the buildup of the standing army before and during the Civil War caused an increase of around 25 battles a year. Nonetheless, no soldier refused the presidents order to invade Iraq. Lt. General David W. Barno, USA (Ret.) Accept More Risk. There is no instance of any government being reduced to a confirmed tyranny without military oppression; and the first policy of tyrants has been to annihilate all other means of national activity and defence, and to rely solely upon standing troops. An army is not a very agreeable place of employment for the young gentlemen of many families. Did the CIA and the Pentagon Put the Quietus on Tucker Carlson? The problem of the scientist's responsibility for war and peace has been analysed by R.W. One of his complaints against the proposed new government was that standing armies may be established, and appropriation of money made for their support, for two years. Those in the Pennsylvania ratification convention who objected to the proposed Constitution published their views in the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser on December 18, 1787, as The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to Their Constituents. The Continental Congress detailed and denounced the incident. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty, he argued.
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