Commanders by Bob Woodward. Specifically,

¶ … Commanders by Bob Woodward. Specifically, it will argue the question "Was the Bush Administration effective in identifying political objectives and applying military resources to accomplish those objectives?" Chapters 7-15 of Bob Woodward's "The Commanders" include discussions of the 1989 Panama invasion, civilian manipulation of the military, and how the administration engineered and pulled off a military invasion during peacetime. If the experience in Panama is any indication, and it is, then the George H.W. Bush administration was extremely adroit at identifying political objectives and applying military resources to accomplish those objectives. These objectives might be much more politically motivated by personal or even financial reasons, rather than the general good of the people and the country, but they were clear motivations for the administration and its' foreign policy. The invasion of Panama was simply one step up the ladder toward the 1991 Gulf War and the political objectives that surrounded that war.

Woodward's chronicle of the Bush administration and their international policy shows that using the military for political objectives is a common occurrence in modern day government. The lack of concern over military officers and their lack of political interest was clear throughout the book, and was well-known throughout political circles. Woodward notes, "Most chilling to Crowe was the indifference that the Secretary of Defense [Cheney] seemed to have about the career of a four-star officer."

He continues, "If the only way a commander could survive was to anticipate the political winds blowing in Washington and try to get out ahead of formal policy change, the military could be hopelessly contaminated."

Thus, the political situation during the Bush years was one of political concern taking precedence over military concern, leaving the military, to use Woodward's phrase, "hopelessly contaminated."

The subject chapters also illustrate this throughout, as the administration carefully picks and chooses who will serve in the military in Panama, and who will lead the military forces in Panama exactly according to the administration's own wishes and agenda. This is evident by the administration's replacement of General Fred Woerner in Panama with a more aggressive and politically astute general, Maxwell Thurman, who Woodward describes as a "no-bull*****, straight-ahead guy."

The administration's position becomes increasingly clear as they install Colin Powell as the Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff, replacing Chairman William J. Crowe when they needed a stronger and more politically astute Chairman. In fact, the administration did their job so well that the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs effectively convinced Bush to finally attack Panama when he began to waffle after a marine was killed and a Navy couple roughed up and interrogated in late December, 1989. The administration chose their leaders wisely, and they led the nation into an attack because they wanted to oust General Noriega and his band of army commandos, the PDF.

The administration surrounded itself with those who supported its position politically, knowing full well they would support their military positions when they had to. Thus, the administration's first goal was to identify political objectives and then make sure these objectives occurred by installing military leaders who would unequivocally support the administration line and position. The administration consistently built a strong foundation to support its political objectives around the world.

Another author, Mark P. Lagon has an even more intimate view of what drove the Bush administration to invade Panama. He writes, "The American invasion of Panama and discussion of intervention in Haiti have been justified in terms of promoting democracy. But as Pastor (1992: 93) notes, the invasion of Panama stemmed largely from President Bush's feeling that Noriega 'was thumbing his nose at him.'"

Woodward concurs with this view, noting that Chaney once told a colleague "You know, [...] the President has got a long history of vindictive political actions.' Cross Bush and you pay, he said, supplying the names of a few victims and adding: Bush remembers and you have to be careful."

These views indicate the Bush administration used the military for vindictive purposes, which is a frightening and quite shocking conclusion. It this is true, much foreign policy and political appointment concerned "getting even" rather than what was in the best interests of the country. That the highest office in the nation was so polluted and malicious in its use of power indicates the use of power for highly personal reasons, and that the military can be manipulated in this grand way is a sign that there are some areas of government that need to be addressed and altered.

The administration not only switched military leadership, they even swayed legal opinion and legal directives. Before the Panama invasion, the administration's Justice Department issued a legal opinion that overruled a Carter administration opinion. This new opinion allowed the President to order the FBI to seize a criminal in a foreign nation who had broken a U.S. law. This was dissimilar to international law, and it clearly was a reference to Noriega in Panama, who the administration accused of dealing in massive amounts of drugs that eventually reached U.S. soil.

It is interesting to note that throughout these chapters, Woodward portrays the military as much more cautious than the administration. He notes that the military are the people who actually have to carry out the invasions and covert operations were not as anxious to use force as the administration. While the media often portrays military leaders as "gung-ho" advocates of war above all else, it seems the modern military has a more prudent nature, but they attack at the whim of the commander-in-chief, and in the Bush administration, these attacks often did seem like carefully orchestrated whims. As another collection of authors note, there were some provocations from Panama that led to the invasion, but there has always been significant questioning as to whether these incidents indeed were serious enough to lead to an act of war. They write,

The incidents are serious, but the question is whether they warranted the launching of "Operation Just Cause" -- a full-scale invasion, of a size not seen since the Vietnam War, and eventually consisting of 12,000 American invaders (added to the approximately 12,000 U.S. military personnel already stationed in Panama), helicopter gunships, artillery and other heavy firepower. The military attack resulted in the death of 26 Americans and over 700 Panamanians, mostly civilians, in addition to severe and widespread physical devastation, property damage and dislocation.