Having McCain head Armed Services is a little akin to inviting Freddy Krueger to run your kids’ Halloween party. Here the WSJ champions the neocon course that wrongly put the U.S. into the Middle East quagmire we are in in the first place.
Mr. Obama could likewise adapt with the help of a GOP Senate. John McCain will soon chair the Armed Services Committee, and Mr. Obama and a new defense chief could work with him to reverse the freefall in U.S. defense spending. They could end the defense sequester, fortify NATO’s eastern front, and pursue a more aggressive military campaign against Islamic State.
Joe Lieberman, the hawkish former Democratic Senator, would be an inspired choice, if he could be cajoled to accept. Michèle Flournoy, who has written for these pages, has Pentagon experience and seems to have enough gumption to challenge the White House. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed has military experience but has never stood out on Armed Services.
Whoever the choice, it won’t matter unless Mr. Obama recognizes the growing disorder and reverses course himself.
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