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

George Washington’s security strategy

I came across this the other day. Soon after the Revolution ended, George Washington calculated that the Army had four jobs in peacetime.

By
CSA-T8-$50-1861
CSA-T8-$50-1861

 

 

I came across this the other day. Soon after the Revolution ended, George Washington calculated that the Army had four jobs in peacetime: “to awe the Indians, protect our [fur] Trade, prevent the encroachment of our Neighbors of Canada and the Florida’s, and guard us at least from surprizes.”

For this he calculated he needed four regiments of infantry and one of artillery, for a total of about 2,600 men.

Image credit: National Museum of American History/Wikimedia Commons

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: History, Military

latest

A President on the Picket Line?

The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China

Eastern Libya’s Rulers Crack Down on Protests—Not Shoddy Infrastructure

Electric Cars or Better Wages?

South America’s Scorching Spring Has Arrived
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Iran Is Exploiting Divisions and U.S. Inaction in Iraqi Kurdistan
  2. 2
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  3. 3
    Deterrence in Taiwan Is Failing
  4. 4
    No, the World Is Not Multipolar
  5. 5
    The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
  6. 6
    The Biden Administration Is Dangerously Downplaying the Global Terrorism Threat

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

  2. The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
    Analysis
    Ash Jain

  3. The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

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

  5. Iran Is Exploiting Divisions and U.S. Inaction in Iraqi Kurdistan
    Argument
    Ranj Alaaldin