The U.S. Constitution makes a civilian, the President, our commander in chief. This is a good thing. But it also means that our civilian leaders often come up with some crazy, stupid, and dangerous ideas. Foreign Policy has come up a with a list of some of the craziest in a feature called “Armchair Warriors.” It’s a display of arrogance by leaders who think they know better than the military. One of my favorites:
“In 1999 or 2000, after the failed attempt to kill Osama bin Laden with some 80 cruise missiles launched into the al Qaeda camp in Khost, Afghanistan, a frustrated President Bill Clinton thought that somehow the United States could ‘scare the s— out of al Qaeda if suddenly a bunch of black ninjas rappelled out of helicopters into the middle of their camp,’ according to the 9/11 Commission.”