Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we have a longstanding tradition in our country of civilian control of government and civilian control of the military. This was first symbolized by George Washington through his act of resigning as Commander in Chief for all of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783. It is a tradition, or a moment in time, that is preserved on the walls of the Rotunda where a mural depicts Washington's noble and selfless act. Our early days were full of the warnings of a standing Army and of ongoing military control at high levels, and those ideas came from Thomas Jefferson and from Alexander Hamilton and from Samuel Adams. When we came to the point in our history where we realized that a continuing military force was necessary, we preserved the importance of civilian control. We did so for a host of important reasons, which others have pointed out on this floor but I think are worth restating. It is important to have a Secretary of Defense who brings a broad world view that includes a civilian perspective to the position. Second, it is important not to politicize our officer ranks and have them essentially competing to position themselves to hold this position of Secretary of Defense. Third, we do not want the services competing against each other in order to hold this position. This is why the Joint Chiefs of Staff position is rotated on a specific schedule.…”