Thread: Military Importance

There is a saying, i forgot who said it, that said, over 200 years ago:"While most states posses an army, the Prussian army possesses a state". Prussia is gone and the hierarchy in its politics are now irrelevant, but this pattern has emerged again. Here, in Israel, the army receives more than half of the annual budget. Its ranks are swollen by countless officials that just add to the bureaucracy and are unnecessary. Not only that, but the army here is immortalized much more than in most countries, and in school we are taught how brave and heroic all our soldiers are. Furthermore, a vital part of growing up in Israel, and in order to get citizenship, one must spend 3 years in the army, from 18-21.

Now, im not saying that the army is useless, far from it. We have great need of a strong army in the turbulence experienced by our neighbors in the sixty years since we declared independence. However, a few reforms are needed in order to lessen our dependence upon it.

Do we really control our army, or does it control us, changing the national policies and agendas to meet its needs?

Originally Posted by Hegemony

There is a saying, i forgot who said it, that said, over 200 years ago:"While most states posses an army, the Prussian army possesses a state". Prussia is gone and the hierarchy in its politics are now irrelevant, but this pattern has emerged again. Here, in Israel, the army receives more than half of the annual budget. Its ranks are swollen by countless officials that just add to the bureaucracy and are unnecessary. Not only that, but the army here is immortalized much more than in most countries, and in school we are taught how brave and heroic all our soldiers are. Furthermore, a vital part of growing up in Israel, and in order to get citizenship, one must spend 3 years in the army, from 18-21.

Now, im not saying that the army is useless, far from it. We have great need of a strong army in the turbulence experienced by our neighbors in the sixty years since we declared independence. However, a few reforms are needed in order to lessen our dependence upon it.

Do we really control our army, or does it control us, changing the national policies and agendas to meet its needs?

The quote was by Carl von Clausewitz.

In the UK the politicians control the military, the government cuts first and asks questions later, they way it never does in any other part of government.

In the US the military companies have some control, but the military it's doesn't.

Originally Posted by antileftwinger

In the US the military companies have some control, but the military it's doesn't.

Nope, the corporations have no real impact on the military. And 100% of the control is in the hands of the civilians.

This is why the military is such a great jobs program for civilians. Go on most posts, and you might well find more civilians there then military. And if they have their way, the military will go away too.

Replaced by good Union members, who will never fight wars during their scheduled coffee break.

We're just too stupid to get it.