In that classic scene from the movie A Few Good Men, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise is defending two Marines accused of murdering a fellow Marine based at Guantanamo Bay.
Kaffee believes the Marines were following a ‘Code Red’ – an illegal order for extrajudicial punishment – issued by Colonel Nathan Jessep, the base commander, played by Jack Nicholson.
Kaffee gets under the skin of Jessep who is a formidable, authoritative figure who sees himself as above reproach.
During a tense exchange, Kaffee asks Colonel Jessep, “Did you order a Code Red?”
The Court Martial Judge quickly interjects with, “You don’t have to answer that question.”
Jessep arrogantly responds, “I’ll answer his question”.
“You want answers?” Jessep sneers.
“I think I’m entitled”, replies Kaffee.
“You want answers?” Jessep shouts.
“I want the truth!” Kaffee shouts back.
Jessep then blurts out his famous line, “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”
Kaffee once again demands to know, “DID YOU ORDER A CODE RED!”
Jessep erupts with, “Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.
“Who’s gonna do that? You?
“I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom … and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
“You don’t want the truth because deep down you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.
“We use words like honour, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something.
“You use them as a punchline.
“I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.
“I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post”.
When this movie was released in 1992, Tom Cruise’s character Daniel Kaffee was, as you’d expect, the good guy, and Jack Nicholson, the baddie.
But the Utopian post-World War II, post-Soviet Union, ‘End of History’ world that gave rise to movies like A Few Good Men didn’t last.
The world never was, nor is it now, how we’d like or wish it to be. The cruel truth is that our desire for a just, kind, or ideal world inevitably clashes with the harsh, indifferent, and unpredictable nature of reality.
In 2022, in a military news outlet called Task & Purpose, retired US Marine 3-star General Gregory Newbold expounded on this theme in an attempt to remind the civilian population of what the military is and what it does.
“Many citizens – especially our most senior politicians and military leaders – seem to have developed a form of dementia when it comes to warfare. The result is confusion or denial about the essential ingredients of a competent military force. The condition is exacerbated and enabled when the most senior military leaders who ought to know better defer to the idealistic judgements of those whose credentials are either non-existent or formed entirely by ideology.
Newbold is referring to the Lt Kaffees of the world.
He continues: “The military has two main purposes – to deter our enemies from engaging us in warfare and if that fails, to defeat them in combat. Deterrence is only possible if the opposing force believes it will be defeated. Respect is not good enough; fear and certainty are required.
“The military cannot be a mirror-image of the society it serves. Values that are admirable in civilian society – sensitivity, individuality, compassion, tolerance for the less-capable – are often antithetical to the traits that deter a potential enemy and win wars that must be fought.
“There is only one over-riding standard for military capability – lethality – the ability to kill. And the officeholders who dilute this core truth with civil society’s often appropriate priorities undermine the military’s chances of success. Reduced chances of success mean more casualties which makes defeat more likely.
“Wars must be waged only with stone-cold pragmatism, not idealism. War is a means to an end, and the end is defeat of the enemy and the establishment of a peace, but not just any peace but a peace in your favour.
In an ominous warning of troubling times ahead, The Australian’s Paul Kelly reported recently:
“This week the dictators came together in Beijing – Xi Jinping, flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – in a display of authoritarian power rarely matched since World War II.
“The vast military display featured nuclear-capable missiles, undersea vehicles, the latest drones, fighter jets, anti-ship missiles and long-range bombers reinforced by thousands of troops goose-stepping in almost perfect co-ordination.
“China intends to dominate in industrial, military and ideological domains.
“Xi’s message is that China’s military dominance of the Asian region will be irresistible.
“The world has just witnessed the most powerful symbolic display of China’s military aspirations with their intimidating logic for Australia.
“And what did our government have to say?
“Nothing – or nothing of any note.
“We cannot even find the language to address the events transforming the world that pose the most serious challenge for our country and people.”
I have never been anti-China.
As reported in my previous comments on China in Beijing to Damascus – A Road to Peace, China has a fascinating Judeo-Christian history.
I have also met Xi Jinping, albeit briefly, in 2014. We talked about housing and how Chinese investors viewed Australia’s property market very favourably.
But a lot that has happened since then disturbs me greatly.
We need options. Our total reliance on the United States is untenable. Its growing internal divisions could seriously impact its external commitments.
One alternative defence bloc could be a Japan–South Korea–Philippines alliance; however, these are all conventional military powers. They would be no match for a nuclear superpower such as China.
India is a friend and is a rising geo-political player. It is also a nuclear power.
But India looks after India, and being an avowed Hindu country, is also culturally very different from Australia.
As Kelly reports, in Beijing, leaders from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea met and did not hide their contempt for the West.
Which brings us once again to Israel.
Israel is currently fighting a war defending Western Civilization.
It is a military superpower.
We should develop a closer relationship.
The Israel-Gaza conflict will soon be over, but China’s military expansion will not.
Can we handle the truth?