Congressional and Media Influences on the Military: A Dilemma for the Peacetime Warrior

摘要

This essay critically analyzes the negative nature of Congressional and media influences on the military establishment. Using the economic, political, and sociological aspects of the American democratic society as a framework, the author examines the motives behind Congressional and media efforts to portray the peacetime military organization in a negative light. The degree of responsibility of Congress and the media in supporting national interests as opposed to perpetuating their personal careers at the expense of the military is the key issue. The irony presented is that the freedom that the military is pledged to maintain is precisely the same freedom that allows the military to be used as a public whipping boy. The article recognizes that only a major crisis that would threaten the country is likely to change the methodology of Congress and the media in dealing with the military because that is the nature of a peacetime democracy.