[June 19, 2015] When we listen to military leaders, we expect to hear unbiased viewpoints and, most of all, we expect to hear the truth clearly stated. Americans don’t like getting the run around or someone trying to twist words into something that confuses us. When that happens we lose trust in them. Thus, the disappointment in many when they listened to the testimony of the U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter when they testified this past Wednesday on the military situation in Iraq.1
The problem was not so much that the situation in Iraq is currently dismal if measured either by the progress of ISIS2 or the failings of the Iraqi government to protect all its citizens (Sunni, Shia, Kurd, and Christian). During the testimony at the House Armed Service Committee hearing, General Dempsey was asked: “Where are we in Iraq today? Are we winning? Are we losing? …” His answers were not up to the level expected of a senior military leader.
A “testy” General Dempsey objected to the use of the personal pronoun “we” in the question. Dempsey rephrased the question for the Congressman; “So if you’re asking, ‘Is the United States winning?’ that’s the wrong question.” He went on to say that “We are on path to deliver what we committed to deliver which is security forces … to confront ISIL …”1,2 What many are saying and what the testimony by Dempsey and Carter appeared to confirm is that there is no clear or effective strategy to confront Islamic terrorism is Iraq or in the Middle East.
Regardless of the question about strategy and not to minimize it here but there are two things that a good military leader needs to do. First, a military leader needs to clearly answer legitimate questions asked by the people and their Congressional representatives. General Dempsey did not do so.
Second, a military leader should not be attempting to change the direction of questioning or the meaning of words. That causes others to read subterfuge or mistrust into their intent. While General Dempsey is trustworthy, many believe the U.S. President is not. Dempsey is the president’s representative on U.S. strategy, any move to misconstrue words or intent can easily backfire on Dempsey and generate greater suspicion of the military and executive branch of government.
Both General Dempsey and the Honorable Carter need to review their method of testifying before a Congressional Committee and work toward a better way of ensuring clear communication. Some have likened Dempsey’s testimony to the joke referring to his Indian friend Tonto’s response to the Lone Ranger when he asked about the grave danger of approaching Apache Indians, “What do you mean ‘we’ white man?”3,4
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[1] http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/17/politics/ash-carter-isis-arm-iraq/
[2] ISIS, ISIL, and Islamic State (IS) are used interchangeably to refer to the infamous Sunni Islamic terrorist organization that has achieve significant military gains in Iraq and Syria.
[3] http://www.michaelclark.name/jokes/misc/the_lone_ranger_and_tonto.shtml
[4] http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/06/right-question-wrong-answer.php