Speaking truth to power

West Point faculty member Lt. Col. Dan Maurer, writing in his personal capacity, has penned another thought-provoking essay for Just Security: "Breaking Ranks in a Civil-Military Crisis: Strategic Communication to Register Dissent." Excerpt:

The measure of a successful, principle-based communication campaign will be the orderly transfer of executive power from one civilian to another with the military’s role being safely irrelevant to the equation. It should go without saying that the military is never the right or best tool to solve a domestic political predicament—even the grave ones. But, now that using this tool is part of the public conversation, it bears repeating that the military’s only legitimate role is one of fidelity to the Constitution without picking up arms to solve a political problem.