Onward and Upward with U.S. Central Command by Andrew Bacevich

March 21st, 2017 | http://lobelog.com/onward-and-upward-with-u-s-central-command/#more-38505

Onward and Upward with U.S. Central Command

by Andrew Bacevich
By way of explaining his eight failed marriages, the American bandleader Artie Shaw once remarked,  “I am an incurable optimist.” In reality, Artie was an incurable narcissist. Utterly devoid of self-awareness, he never looked back, only forward.
So, too, with the incurable optimists who manage present-day American wars.  What matters is not past mistakes but future opportunities.  This describes the view of General Joseph Votel, current head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).  Since its creation in 1983, CENTCOM has emerged as the ne plus ultra of the Pentagon’s several regional commands, the place where the action is always hot and heavy.  Votel is the latest in a long train of four-star generals to preside over that action.
The subtitle of this essay–Prepare, Pursue, Prevail!–captures in a single phrase the “strategic approach” that Votel has devised for CENTCOM.  That approach, according to the command’s website, is “proactive in nature and endeavors to set in motion tangible actions in a purposeful, consistent, and continuous manner.” http://lobelog.com/onward-and-upward-with-u-s-central-command/#more-38505