The Crook annals: Why the Army didn’t trust white settlers on the Western frontier
General George Crook distrusted the whites on the frontier, and believed they had a vested interest in riling up the Indians so the Army would stick around.
General George Crook distrusted the whites on the frontier, and believed they had a vested interest in riling up the Indians so the Army would stick around. This was, another general noted, because “almost the only paying business the white inhabitants have … is supplying the troops.” The result was that, “Hostilities are therefore kept up with a view to supporting the inhabitants.”
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
More from Foreign Policy

A New Multilateralism
How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

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 Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy
Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

The End of America’s Middle East
The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.