The JCS: Military Must Stay 'Apolitical' at All Times

Thom Shanker / International Herald Tribune:
The highest-ranking U.S. military officer has written an unusual open letter to all those in uniform, warning them to stay out of politics as the United States approaches a presidential election in which the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be a central, and certainly divisive, issue. "The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times," wrote Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway." Mullen's essay appears in the coming issue of Joint Force Quarterly, an official military journal that is distributed widely among the officer corps. The statement to the armed forces is the first essay for the journal Mullen has written as chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Posted by Editor at May 27, 2008 06:39 AM