Military power "should not, maybe cannot, be the last resort of the state," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a March 5 statement delivered to members of the Armed Forces through American Forces Press Service. Relying upon military force too often or too quickly would likely produce limited beneficial results over time, he said. "We ought to make it a precondition of committing our troops that we do so only if and when other instruments of national power and our allies are ready to engage as well," he said. Other key points include using military force "in a precise and principled way." Whenever civilians are killed inadvertently, Mullen said, "We make it hard for people to trust us." He also said that while entering any conflict with a "clear strategy," that plan must evolve in order to prevail in the end. "We will win, but … only over time and only after near-constant reassessment and adjustment," he said. "The day you stop adjusting is the day you lose."
