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

A new military competition: Has your base’s sexual assault czar been arrested yet? And yes, there is in fact a silver bullet.

Now the manager of the sexual harassment and assault program at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has been busted for allegedly violating a protective order banning him from contact with his ex-wife, and for stalking her. This makes me think even more that the theme of our current thread of discussion is correct: that the generals really ...

By
Flickr
Flickr
Flickr

Now the manager of the sexual harassment and assault program at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has been busted for allegedly violating a protective order banning him from contact with his ex-wife, and for stalking her.

Now the manager of the sexual harassment and assault program at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has been busted for allegedly violating a protective order banning him from contact with his ex-wife, and for stalking her.

This makes me think even more that the theme of our current thread of discussion is correct: that the generals really haven’t cared enough to put good people in these sexual harassment jobs.

Which means that President Obama is incorrect when he says that "there’s no silver bullet to solving this problem." I bet he was just repeating what his generals told him. And that indicates that they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

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
Tags: Military, National Security Agency

latest

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?

A Tale of Two Germanies

The Great Turn Inward

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
  2. 2
    Who Are Xi’s Enemies?
  3. 3
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  4. 4
    Inside the Seedy, Cutthroat Underbelly of China’s Wealthy Elite
  5. 5
    No, the World Is Not Multipolar
  6. 6
    The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. Who Are Xi’s Enemies?
    Analysis
    Deng Yuwen

  2. Inside the Seedy, Cutthroat Underbelly of China’s Wealthy Elite
    Review
    James Palmer

  3. No, the World Is Not Multipolar
    Essay
    Jo Inge Bekkevold

  4. The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China
    Analysis
    Raja Krishnamoorthi

  5. Xi Jinping Is Trying to Adapt to Failure
    ChinaFile
    Neil Thomas

Latest

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?

A Tale of Two Germanies

The Great Turn Inward

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
See All Stories