Prof. Bacevich, author six books critiquing US military policy post WW2 has recently written an article wondering when an antiwar movement would emerge with the speed and energy of that which developed after the exposure of Harvey Weinstein as a sex predator. ("Still Waiting: A Harvey Weinstein Moment for America's Wars?" (Tom's Dispatch)
He sees the lack of an antiwar movement, in general, stemming from three causes at the moment, 1) the pre-occupation with Donald Trump and his daily antics; 2) the post-Vietnam military system which replaced the draft with a professional army which creates a distance between those in it and the general public and 3) the lack of an alternative party since when it comes to the use of American military power there has been no fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans and no potential candidate for the Democrats in 2020 has challenged that norm.
He traces the problem to the failure of both parties to understand the implications of the ending of the Cold War and their belied in the efficiency of US military power to solve the world's problems. They have yet to make the serious evaluation that was required and the fingerprints on that are not only of Democrats and Republicans but also of the mainstream media, in which he singles out the NY Times and the Washington Post which have beat the drums for all US military adventures.
He faults Congress for allowing successive US presidents to use what has become an open-ended authorization for use of force act in response to 911 to justify every military adventure, many of which remain unknown until they end up like in Niger with 4 soldiers killed. Congress, he says, has forfeited its Constitutional responsibility for making war to the Executive Branch and there is no sign that it is ready to take that responsibility.
He views the infatuation of Americans with their electronic devices has both shorten their attention span and encouraged narcissism. This also applies to the success of the movements regarding race, sex, and gender which he considers to be positive overall but instead of adding to the overdue discussions and critiques of US military policy they have displaced them.
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