Host intro: The American military is in the news, with charges of sexual abuse of female recruits and stories about more troops headed for Bosnia and Zaire. Pete du Pont of the National Center for Policy Analysis says they raise two questions no one seems to be answering. So he will.
What's a military for? To deter potential enemies from aggression; to defeat them if deterrence isn't enough; to have the political will not to commit soldiers without a clear mission and the national interest at stake.
So why do we persist in sending soldiers on police operations to places of no strategic interest to the united states? And why do we let social engineers weaken the military just to prove that women are the equals of men in everything?
If we want to render aid to countries in distress, let's render aid. If we deem our interests are sufficiently imperiled to fight, let's fight. But to put our troops lives at risk for hazy, feel-good motives undermines their mission and wastes lives to no purpose.
What's more, and this is where I'll get into trouble in this, egalitarian-crazy, pseudo-genderless society, our training and discipline have been weakened and our fighting skills lowered by pretending men and women are the same; that the military is no different from the boardroom. Fighting wars isn't the same as climbing the corporate ladder. I know it comes as a shock in the unisex '90s, but soldiering is a man's job.
Those are my ideas, and at the NCPA, we know ideas can change the world. I'm Pete du Pont, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Host outro: What do you do after you run for president and lose? Tomorrow, Pete du Pont has some career suggestions for Bob Dole.