“Mind the Gap”: Post-Iraq Civil-Military Relations in America

Date : Mon., October 15, 2007 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Category : FPRI in D.C.

On October 15, 2007, FPRI’s Program on National Security held a conference on American civil-military relations, hosted and co-sponsored by the Reserve Officers Association in Washington, D.C. Mackubin T. Owens, Frank G. Hoffman, Michael P. Noonan, and Robert Feidler, director of Strategic Defense Education at the ROA, served as panel moderators. In attendance were more than 100 individuals from academia, government, NGOs, the media, the military, and the public; nearly 300 individuals from several continents participated by live webcast. Overall, most participants seemed to agree that American civil-military relations were troubled even before the Iraq war, which conflict has only exacerbated frictions. FPRI thanks W.W. Keen Butcher, Robert L. Freedman, Bruce H. Hooper, and Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. for their support of this conference. The views expressed herein are those of the speakers and should not be construed to represent any agency of the U.S. government or other institution.