ARTICLE REVIEW:
The Paradox of Professionalism: Eisenhower, Ridgway, and the Challenge to Civilian Control, 1953-1955, by A.J. Bacevich
The Author’s Thesis
In A.J. Bacevich’s 20 December, 2007 essay, The Paradox of Professionalism: Eisenhower, Ridgway, and the Challenge to Civilian Control, 1953-1955, he postured it with three direct and interrelated questions of civil-military relations, genuine civilian control, and civil-military relations to achieve national security. Then, he positioned his next several paragraphs that identified overarching issues associated with his questions, such as: Americans take civil-military relations for granted and display the perception that if there is "no coup? No problem.” Additionally the author specified that historians oversimplified the relational and control factors amidst the national civil authorities and senior military leaders, journalists reported information where they were not abreast of the facts, and Clinton's administration avoided relational conflicts with senior military leaders and that the Army pursued its self-interests in military tradition. The paragraphs lead to the author’s primary message and his thesis statement.
Bacevich stated his primary message was to make known the tensions and controversies in civil-military relations and the purpose is to illustrate the genuine terms of the civil-military relationship within the innermost circles of government, casting light on the realities of civilian-control. The essay’s thesis was very clear and contained two topics: “this is an essay not only about civilian control but about substance of military professionalism.” The thesis was very clear and directly associated with his three leading questions that were supported...
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...ional decorum in dealing with Ridgway through the end. Eisenhower’s vision of morality and concern for human life seemed to have escaped him in his willingness to pursue a national strategic policy –reduce the Army by exploiting nuclear weaponry in the form of “mass retaliation” to obliterate innocent civilians. Professionalism is not a matter just for the military; it is also a matter for the civilian authorities. Both must function in concert to enable the functionality of civil-military relations to attain both civilian control and an affective national security policy. that when professionalism is maintained between the highest echelons of civilian national authorities and senior ranking military officials, genuine control is attainable; without professionalism, there is a change in the balance of control – thus, making it difficult to assert control.
Notes:
This essay will evaluate Eisenhower’s moral judgement and ethical decision-making using three (of seven) ethical principles author Don Snider contends are applicable to all Army professionals. After evaluating Eisenhower’s integration of duty, loyalty and subordination, this analysis concludes that Eisenhower used appropriate ethical and moral judgement in his decision authorized the deal as Allied Commander. The first principle
Stewart R. W. (2005). American Military History (Vol. 1). The United States Army and the
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Miller Center. (2009, May). American President: A reference resource. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from University of Virgina: http://millercenter.org/president/eisenhower/essays/biography/print
Snider, D. M. (2008). Dissent and strategic leadership of the military professions. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
- - -, ed. "The Anti-War Movement in the United States." English.Illnois.edu. Ed. Oxford Companion to American Military History. 1st ed. Vers. 1. Rev. 1. Oxford Companion to American Military History, 1999. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
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