Juan Cole: President Bachmann: Another Mideast Messiah

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from truthdig:




President Bachmann: Another Mideast Messiah

Posted on Aug 16, 2011
By Juan Cole


Michele Bachmann narrowly won the Iowa straw poll this past weekend, ending the presidential bid of her fellow Minnesotan, Tim Pawlenty, and positioning herself as a serious contender for the presidency of the United States. Although her chances of winning a general election seem low, it is time to review her foreign policy stances. The little that can be gleaned from her positions is self-contradictory, going back and forth between isolationism and militarism. But the militarism seems to trump other values for her, suggesting she could easily be captured by the neoconservatives.

Bachmann made waves in June when she said in an interview, “I’m tired of Afghanistan and Iraq, too. I think we need to get out. I think Afghanistan is—on many, many levels, it doesn’t seem we’re gaining any ground. I want to reduce U.S. exposure in Afghanistan. So, let’s get them out as quickly as we can.” This quote is often now taken out of context, and in conjunction with her opposition to the NATO intervention in Libya, to suggest that she is a neo-isolationist.

But other statements make it clear that Bachmann is actually no more eager to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq than are the Joint Chiefs of Staff—that, indeed, she would defer to them and let them set the pace: “I don’t think it’s fair for Congress members to usurp our decision-making over that of the generals on the ground. It’s very important that the generals and also the intelligence-gathering sources get that information up to the commander in chief, whether it’s George Bush or whether it’s Barack Obama.” She concluded her remarks about getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan by saying, “But at the same time, I don’t want to tell the generals when they’re going to get out. That really needs to be the experts.”

The cynical could easily conclude that Bachmann wants to have it both ways, attempting to appeal at the same time to the hawks and to the isolationists. By expressing her war fatigue and simultaneously deferring absolutely to the officer corps, she gives herself an out if she wants to prolong the wars indefinitely. Worryingly, she seems not to understand or value the principle of civilian control over the military, ceding decision-making to the Pentagon. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/president_bachmann_another_mideast_messiah_20110816/