AN ODD INTERVIEW: David Adesnik

AN ODD INTERVIEW: David Adesnik over at OxBlog highlights something that’s been bothering me as well — the recent Sunday NYT Magazine interview with Robert Kagan. More than a third of the questions dealt with whether Kagan was a “chicken hawk.” What’s weird about this is Kagan’s answer to the first question on this point: ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

AN ODD INTERVIEW: David Adesnik over at OxBlog highlights something that's been bothering me as well -- the recent Sunday NYT Magazine interview with Robert Kagan. More than a third of the questions dealt with whether Kagan was a "chicken hawk." What's weird about this is Kagan's answer to the first question on this point: "Did you serve in the military? I was 14 when the Vietnam War ended, and I didn't choose the military as my career path." That really should have ended the questioning on this topic, but the interviewer persisted for three more questions. I vehemently disagree with the chicken hawk logic, but I can sort of understand the point being made about elites avoiding military service during Vietnam. The thing is, once the military switched to an all-volunteer force, the question becomes somewhat moot -- either you chose the military as a career or you did not. Kagan did nothing dishonorable or duplicitous -- and yet he has to explain why we shouldn't be living in a Starship Troopers-kind of society.

AN ODD INTERVIEW: David Adesnik over at OxBlog highlights something that’s been bothering me as well — the recent Sunday NYT Magazine interview with Robert Kagan. More than a third of the questions dealt with whether Kagan was a “chicken hawk.” What’s weird about this is Kagan’s answer to the first question on this point: “Did you serve in the military? I was 14 when the Vietnam War ended, and I didn’t choose the military as my career path.” That really should have ended the questioning on this topic, but the interviewer persisted for three more questions. I vehemently disagree with the chicken hawk logic, but I can sort of understand the point being made about elites avoiding military service during Vietnam. The thing is, once the military switched to an all-volunteer force, the question becomes somewhat moot — either you chose the military as a career or you did not. Kagan did nothing dishonorable or duplicitous — and yet he has to explain why we shouldn’t be living in a Starship Troopers-kind of society.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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