Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Generals should not be potted plants for candidates on the campaign trail

This phrase in an article in the Fayetteville Observer caught my eye:  ". . . . Sharing the stage with Ryan were . . . . retired Army Gens. Dan McNeill and Buck Kernan." I have nothing against either of those generals. But I wish they would not allow themselves to be used by political ...

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

This phrase in an article in the Fayetteville Observer caught my eye:  ". . . . Sharing the stage with Ryan were . . . . retired Army Gens. Dan McNeill and Buck Kernan."

This phrase in an article in the Fayetteville Observer caught my eye:  ". . . . Sharing the stage with Ryan were . . . . retired Army Gens. Dan McNeill and Buck Kernan."

I have nothing against either of those generals. But I wish they would not allow themselves to be used by political figures. The Army chief of staff should ask all retired generals to stop appearing with candidates who are campaigning. I especially hate it when they trot out a coupla dozen at political conventions.  In the long run, this sort of partisan activity can only hurt the Army, and the nation.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

A photo collage illustration shows U.S. political figures plotted on a foreign-policy spectrum from most assertive to least. From left: Dick Cheney, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, George H.W. Bush, Ron Desantis, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Bernie Sanders.
A photo collage illustration shows U.S. political figures plotted on a foreign-policy spectrum from most assertive to least. From left: Dick Cheney, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, George H.W. Bush, Ron Desantis, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Bernie Sanders.

The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking

Presidents, officials, and candidates tend to fall into six camps that don’t follow party lines.

A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.
A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.

What Does Victory Look Like in Ukraine?

Ukrainians differ on what would keep their nation safe from Russia.

A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.
A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.

The Biden Administration Is Dangerously Downplaying the Global Terrorism Threat

Today, there are more terror groups in existence, in more countries around the world, and with more territory under their control than ever before.

Then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez arrives for a closed-door briefing by intelligence officials at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez arrives for a closed-door briefing by intelligence officials at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Blue Hawk Down

Sen. Bob Menendez’s indictment will shape the future of Congress’s foreign policy.