Clinton's Warrior Woes
Can a man who avoided the draft ever prove himself as America's commander in chief?
Almost overnight, Bill Clinton has become a born-again commander in chief. After key aides pointed out he was alienating many military personnel and veterans with his half-hearted fingertip flutters, he has learned to snap off crisp salutes when he greets members of the armed forces. Now, when the national anthem is played at public events, he rests his right hand solemnly over his heart to show his respect, abandoning his old habit of letting his arms dangle at his sides. Clinton's newfound sensitivity to matters military extends to policy deliberations, too. After his meeting with congressional Republicans last week, Clinton pulled aside Sen. John McCain for a heart-to-heart. Clinton told the Arizona Republican and Vietnam War hero that he had no intention of letting America's defenses slip, despite his proposed cuts in the military budget.
In recent weeks, sources told U.S. News, national security adviser Anthony Lake and his deputy, Sandy Berger, warned Clinton that some military officers were beginning to suspect that he and his administration were uninterested in, and possibly hostile to, the military culture. Fueling the suspicions of often clannish professional soldiers were the president's opposition to the Vietnam War, his draft record, his now-famous letter to his ROTC unit describing his empathy for those who came to "loathe" the military during that era, and his early decision to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military. The need to cut the military budget, close more bases and slash procurement programs only encouraged the hostility.
Less than a month after Clinton took office, the Pentagon rumor mill was overheating with scuttlebutt that Clintonites had insulted military personnel at the White House. Making matters worse, many career soldiers consider Defense Secretary Les Aspin more an intellectual than a warrior. Some were offended by Aspin's March 1 directive that the number of military personnel in his office "be kept to the minimum necessary."
Clinton's aides say that while his deficient salutes reflect his lack of military experience, he is anything but hostile to the armed services. "If there's a problem, it's a misperception," argues White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty. "I know it's not a legitimate reflection of his feelings." And many career soldiers are willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt. "I don't think it's Bill Clinton," says one officer. "But he's got some younger, less experienced people working for him who leave the impression the administration is antimilitary."
Wanted: respect. Whatever some underlings may think, Clinton understands that the military cannot be taken for granted. First, although it is shrinking, the armed forces will be called on to carry out some of Clinton's foreign policy, as it already has been doing in Bosnia. Second, the Pentagon remains a powerful political institution with allies in Congress, industry, veterans' groups and local communities. Finally, despite its flaws, today's military can teach the administration some lessons about how to achieve its own goals--in equal opportunity, in education and training and in encouraging individual responsibility.
The president plans a charm offensive soon to try to repair some of the damage. In coming weeks, he will visit the Pentagon for a get-acquainted session and is expected to tour at least one military base outside Washington to show how much he values the armed forces. In the spring, following tradition, he will deliver at least one commencement address to a military academy. He will also personally greet troops coming home from Somalia.
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