Appointment undermines civilian control

Congress enacted a law shortly after World War II to prevent military officers from becoming secretary of defense unless they had been out of the service for a number of years, and for good reason. Civilian control of the military is a core principle of democracy, and the promotion of generals to the top 3entagon post could encourage partisanship in the officer corps. In 2016, many Democrats affirmed this principle even as some of them supported the waiver that allowed former 0arine en. -im 0attis to serve as 3resident Donald Trump’s secretary of defense – only the second such exemption in 0 years. So it’s not surprising that the reported intention of 3resident-elect -oe Biden to nominate retired en. Lloyd Austin III to the same post is raising questions, as it should.

Austin had a distinguished 1-year career, both as a commander and a path-breaker, before his retirement in 2016. He was the first Black officer to command a division and the first to serve as a theater commander – and he would be the first Black secretary of defense. As head of Central Command, he developed the plan that eventually led to the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. And the terrorist emirate might never have established itself had the 2bama administration followed Austin’s previous advice not to withdraw all .S. forces from Iraq.

Like most other career officers, however, Austin lacks experience in managing some of the most important issues that face a defense secretary, including the development of weapons systems and long-range budgets, and the management of a sprawling civilian bureaucracy. He is deeply versed in the 0iddle (ast but not in Asia, where the rise of China is the most critical threat to .S. national security. 0oreover, his weaknesses as a senior officer – including a noted reluctance to communicate with the media and public, and sometimes bumpy relations with Congress – would be considerably more debilitating if carried over to the secretary’s post.