If I were in charge of the American military and military budget, I would make certain changes to our military strategy to reflect these ethical choices.
First, I would leave Iraq and invite the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces and diplomats and nation builders to the region from my position as a General. I would leave my share of soldiers in Iraq, which I approximate to be 10,000, to care for macroduties such as maintaining national sovereignty and performing service projects including immunization of Iraqis and attending to their medical needs while hospital support is restored. I would spend my military budget and force building schools and courthouses and forums and pools of water. I would begin projects to establish Concentrating Solar Power initiatives in the hot Iraqi desert and build fuel cell power plants there, which I would have guarded on a contingent basis. I would have my soldiers do this, not mercentile contracters, except for technical work, which I would hire Iraqi firms and technicians primarily by budget to perform.
Air cover over Iraq would end or become extremely limited. Military policework would all but cease, and American targets would dematerialize. I would assure Iraqis of their national security and allow Kurdistan to become an affiliated autonomous region and disengage from that zone, except by invitation.
I would highlight these positive steps regarding Iraqi progress and note my disengagement from the occupation. I would shift focus from fighting to nationbuilding alongside fresh and bright UN forces and leaders.
The soldiers recovered from Iraq could be sent to the Sudan to maintain peace and supply chains in the region. I would use air cover in the region to intimidate fighters and armor to engage any hostile fighters seeking to pillage or disrupt supply. I do not expect to need to use force of arms to make peace in this area, but merely to send 90,000 soldiers to the zone and for them to maintain order until diplomatic relations and solutions can be brought about. I believe the two remaining rebel factions could be coerced into agreements if they heard sonic booms overhead and saw big yellow buggers rolling about all over the place. Furthermore, the soldiers mere presence would stop rape and violence and they would dispense rations to end transient hunger caused by war. I would also ask the UN to commit troops to this engagement and to be more watchful and willing to engage events such as this one. How many murders does it take before the UN officially must send troops? 50,000? Diplomats must decide, and not be afraid to request peacekeeping resources for peacekeeping purposes.
I would bombard North Korea and Iran with radio broadcast of meaningful discussion of hostilities, American intentions, world intentions, current news from around the world in numerous languages, and messages of peace. I might broadcast the dispensation of certain kinds of gifts to them, such as children's coloring books and crayons, ribbons, techbooks, postcards, and I would encourage my citizens and the world to pray for them and to send them letters which I would have delivered. I would ask the North Koreans and Iranians to petition American and world sources for assistance such as medical procedures and treatments, educations, Make A Wish style events. I would select hundreds or thousands of them and fulfill their requests. We could devote a portion of the military budget to this peacekeeping mission and do it to nations in the whole world.
I would reduce military R&D on new airplane systems and focus on developing and installing scramjets on our planes. This will allow them to respond to disasters all over the world using less fuel and time. I would reduce the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States, which currently is around 10,000, to a very low figure and switch our policy of nuclear weaponry from strike first or mutually assured destruction to one of peace finding. 100 nuclear weapons should be quite sufficient, and other nations could join us in pursuing the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. Any nation seeking to build nuclear weapons will show up on infrared satellite radar and other global space and economic detection systems, and can be stopped before they are able to meaningfully deploy the weapons.
In addition to this I would petition the world to eliminate nuclear power plants, exposing the records of military nuclear plant data and testing, and promote and subsudize the shutting down of nucelar plants and the establishment of renewable power resources. This is in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and would set the example to the world. I would ban funding for new nuclear weapons.
I would buy and research methods of more securely treating and eliminating nuclear waste and purchase ex-Soviet weapons systems to destroy them.
I would refit numerous pieces of engined military hardware with fuel cell engines and metal hydrogen fuel rods, reducing military footprint, vulnerability, reducing vehicle noise, pollution, explosivity, and supply train. This would reduce the cost of maintaining the military and spur the fuel cell industry in the civilian sector, which is sorely needed, and reduce environmental damage.
I would research advanced forms of body armor to protect soldiers from attack while on foot. As vehicles were upgraded with fuel cell technology I would upgrade their armor and countermeasures systems.
I would devote a portion of the military budget in general to performing world service such as digging wells, teaching students, and building shelters and schools and hospitals. Being a fulltime soldier would resemble being in the reserves, except you would be based for six months or a year at a time in a certain peaceful country on an exchange program of work and study, while you would also train at various barracks and with foreign soldiers. Soldiers would also go on training programs resembling peacefire skirmishes in remote regions and environments lasting for two weeks or so. A skirmish containing 100,000 soldiers or more would be excellent training for a peacekeeping mission in response to a crisis such as Darfur.
I would allow my soldiers their first ammendment rights to say what they chose to about a conflict, conduct or performance of the military. I would allow the formation of militias alongside the military. Personally I would not commit to a military outfit where I was forced to do what the leaders told me to. I would not pursue those goals in all cases and would not place myself in a promise to. But I do care about the security of the nation and world and I would like to encourage and allow citizens to become trained in ethics and technical skills and self defense and give them the environment and opportunity to commit fully to it. Militias would be somewhat more autonomous than brigade life and would remain technically civilian, although they could be deployed to peacekeeping zones and guard supply chains and assist the military while not engaging in front line combat. In the event of a war they would be a step up from reservists and would likely join suit on at least temporary basis.
I would devote a portion of my military forces to UN projects at UN request under my own command, possibly in lieu of paying dues, or as a partial payment in kind. The other changes to my military already reflect numerous United Nations charter goals and working closely with international forces would benefit all statewide military campaigns.
Regarding non-state peacekeeping actions, I believe we can beat our swords into ploughshares. I believe that economic, industrial, and military adjustments along with legal, educational and social change can make everything from gangs to terrorism official history.
