摘要：No political or military leader re- sponsible for the lives of citizens who become soldiers ever wants to give the order to put American service- members at risk. That desire is even more present after more than a decade of waging and fighting war. The deci- sion to employ American forces should be based upon U.S. interests and an ob- jec tive assessment of what ki nds of forces are needed to achieve the out- come the nation's interests require, not merely what its leaders desire. The U.S. sustains its military forces to defend it- self and its interests. These forces exist to provide options for political leaders. The current "no boots on the ground" mantra is a policy, not a strategy; more- over, it is problematic from five impor- tant perspectives: strategically, opera- tionally, institutionally, historically and morally.
