The E.R.: ‘We Fail Better’ Should Not Be the Motto of the U.S. Military

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Is the U.S. military missing a critical element needed to transition from war to peace? Has America’s infrastructure for winning — and ending — wars fallen apart? In other words, has the U.S. goal of establishing “stability” in places like Iraq or Afghanistan actually been a myth all along?

A military is only as good as its ability to deal with the problems it faces, and whether blame falls on politicians, tactical generals, or failed strategies, the “greatest military in the world” has struggled for 15 years to wrap up two wars.

In this edition of The Editor’s Roundtable, the panel debates the current state of the U.S. military, what has gone wrong, and how to fix it. From the public debate on the culture of the military to the civilian-military divide to how to get ahead in the armed forces, this week’s episode leaves no sacred stone unturned.

Rosa Brooks is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, and teaches international law, national security, and constitutional law at Georgetown University. Follow her on Twitter: @brooks_rosa.

Kori Schake is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she focuses on military history and a former foreign policy advisor to Sen. John McCain. Follow her on Twitter: @KoriSchake.

Tom Ricks is a senior advisor at the New America Foundation. Follow him on Twitter: @tomricks1.

David Rothkopf is CEO and editor of the FP Group. Follow him on Twitter: @djrothkopf.

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