Blockade

These are observations made by Peter Zeihan on the blockade that Alabama Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville has made on armed services promotions.  I've been following this as it is fascinating to me that a single US Senator can single-handedly block promotions within the ranks of the US military establishment.

Obstructionism is hardly new to the political scene in Washington.  And while Tuberville is entitled to his opinion on abortion I'm struggling to see a connection to filling key defense and security positions.  The system is hopelessly flawed when one individual can bring the filling of critical national security positions to a grinding halt.

Zeihan claims that under normal circumstances if you learned that high-ranking military personnel were losing security clearances and access to critical information, you'd probably expect to hear some sound rationale. Unfortunately, that's not the case because the current greatest threat to our national security is orchestrated by Tuberville over abortion policy.

Senator Tommy Tuberville has placed a unilateral hold on nominations and confirmations of military officials because he doesn't like the Biden administration's current policy of allowing service members to travel for abortion services. Consequently, the affected military personnel cannot access the classified information necessary for strategic planning.

Abusing power to manipulate outcomes is nothing new for American politics; however, political deadlocks that impede military operations are detrimental and problematic for the country's security interests. Given the context of the Ukraine War and rising tensions with China does this pose a potential risk?  Is is something that as Tuberville characterizes it, no big deal?  Or is it a perfectly acceptable not to jerk military leadership and their families around for political theater?

Does Zeihan have a valid point?

And, BTW, Alabama Senator Tuberville lives in Florida.  Apparently that's not a big deal for the people of Alabama.  I have to wonder how us Cheeseheads would feel about one of our senators living in Chicago or Rockford....