It s as if they have a secret supply of magic wands capable of making strategic chaos and critical military difficulties disappear. The situation would be similar to that experienced by former Navy pilot John McCain, who was shot down and imprisoned during the Vietnam War. Defense Secretary William Cohen testified on April 15 that without the need to reach consensus among NATO s war-making committee, American military leaders would have done things differently.
Constitutional government relies on checks and balances.
For 50 years, the North American Treaty Organization has been a successful alliance, solely responsible for the defense of its members. America s volunteer force is being commandeered for a well-meaning but calamitous enterprise. It is impossible to drive a car, much less command a war, from the back seat. President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright erred in forswearing land troops in Kosovo. That is no excuse, however, to empower NATO s War Committee to make even more disastrous mistakes.