Billy Mitchell Quotes
I can stand by no longer and see these disgusting performances by the Navy and War Departments at the expense of the lives of our people, and the delusion of the American public.
William "Billy" Mitchell, 1879-1936, Army General, Statement
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Political disputes over the degree of defense spending are classic in American political history. In the early 20th century, most conservatives were opposed to government spending for the military and the President had great difficulty getting the Conservative wing of his own party to support increased military appropriations. The remains of the great naval hero John Paul Jones had just been brought to the United States from France in which he had died. A large ceremony was held in Annapolis, Maryland and most of the conservatives who had opposed the military spending proposed by Roosevelt attended the ceremony to demonstrate their patriotism. TR shocked them by turning the solemn ceremony into a political embarrassment for them.
In early America, there was great concern about a standing army—a military force that exists and is organized in peacetime. History showed the founding fathers that tyrants who siezed power almost always did so by getting control of the standing army. The logic was if there is no standing army, no one can control it and therefore no tyrant can control the country by force. At the time, however, with oceans protecting us, there was penty of time to mobilize a defensive army should any foreign power invade. However, with modern military technology, and the importantance of retaliation as a protective3 strategy, it is virtually impossible to not have a standing army and stoll be secure.
Forrestal was outraged when special interests and lobbies pressured Congress and the White House regarding the policies—especially the budget and spending policies of the Department of Defense. Ironically, he was accused of endangering national security by many—especially Southerners. He had racially integrated the Navy while Secretary of the Navy and as Defense Secretary he wanted to integrate the armed forces completely. The argument against integration was that unit cohesion and military effectiveness would decrease. If nothing else, large numbers of servicemen would not want to be in close proximity to Blacks and his would impair their military effectiveness. The same arguments were later made about the integration of women and then gays.
He was referring to the famous Eisenhower quotation of 1961. See {641114}.
William Lendrum Mitchell was a United States Army general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force.
