The Line of Fire: From Washington to the Gulf, the Politics and Battles of the New Military

Rating:
Summary: I Think They Created a Monster
Review: As autobiographies go, this is one of my least favorite. I prefer ones that put put their subjects' life into context. This one is merely a chronological recount of the 11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs' life from birth to the early years of his retirement. This opens the way for folks like me to summarize for him. As you read below, youll see thats not necessarily a good thing.

ADM Crowe had a very spectacular career in many respects. Most Navy officers further themselves through command, engineering education and patronage by senior naval officers. Crowe followed none of these. Early in his career, he chose to chart his own course. While he completed the usual command tours expected of a submarine officer, he did so on diesel subs after refusing to enter the nuclear navy (and thus turning the famous and powerful Admiral Rickover into an enemy). Instead of pursuing graduate studies in engineering, he chose to seek a PhD in politics at Princeton. While his book doesnt specifically state it, it appears he shot through the higher ranks because of his association with civilian politicians and diplomats. One gets the sense he was not entirely popular in the naval community.

Despite this, he made it to the top. Some of this can be attributed to blind luck. But certainly his amazing track record in politico/military affairs made him deserving of accolades. He was probably the perfect JCS Chairman for the mid to late eighties. Instances of direct combat were rare and isolated so the need for a warrior type was just not there. And it seems his negotiating skills and political knowledge went a long way to help bring about a quiet end to the Cold War.

Then there is the weirdness. Its hard to devine from this tome why Admiral Crowe developed a poorly thought out liberal mindset. I think it came from his contact with leftists at Princeton. Perhaps there are other things that happened he didnt discuss but it seems he veered left in the early 60s while working on his PhD. Examples of this are rampant. In the early 70s he was ordered by a superior to write a paper recounting North Vietnamese violations of the Geneva Accords that brought an end to the French occupation. Instead he wrote a document revealing Communist and US violations.......even though he freely admits the US never signed the accord! How does one violate an agreement it never entered into?? Then there were the unseemly backdoor maneuverings of Crowe to get out to the media his opposition to SDI. For those that dont know, military officers arent supposed to do this. Lets not forget his bizarre decision to appear on the sitcom "Cheers". Dont know about everyone else but I like my flag rank officers to act professionally. And of course there is the crown jewel of weirdness. His decision to break precedent and endorse Clinton for President shortly after he retired.

Here is where things get funny. The good Admiral gives two main reasons for this endorsement. First he was appalled that the US government didnt have a good industrial plan. Ummmmmm, last I checked the US had a free market economy and the government wasnt supposed to have "industrial plans"! He was also critical of what he saw as Republican tendencies to divide Americans against each other. He gives no examples of this. Just as well, as hed be hard pressed to come up with examples. That said, he chose to throw his lot in with the political party that purveys Marxist class envy! Go figure. I might chalk this up to bad judgment, but Admiral Crowe went on to endorse Clinton in 96 and now Kerry in 2004.

So what do we have? Id say Crowe shows himself to be a gifted person who chose his own way and succeeded despite the odds against him. Unfortunately, he seems to have suffered from brain damage and now roams the political landscape like the proverbial Frankenstein's Monster!