单选题
Friction between America's military and its civilian
overseers is nothing new. America's220-year experiment in civilian control of
the military is a recipe for friction. The nation' s historyhas seen a series of
shifts in decision-making power among the White House, the
civiliansecretaries and the uniformed elite (精英). However, what may seem on the
outside an unstableand special system of power sharing has, without a doubt,
been a key to two centuries of militarysuccess. In the
infighting dates to the revolution, George Washington waged a continual struggle
notjust for money, but to control the actual battle plan. The framers of
the Constitution sought toclarify things by making the president the "commander
in chief" . Not since Washington wore hisuniform and led the troops across the
Alleghenies to quell (镇压) the Whiskey Rebellion has asitting president taken
command in the field. Yet the absolute authority of the president ensures
hisdirect command. The president was boss, and everyone in uniform knew
it. In the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln dealt directly with his
generals, and Secretary of WarEdwin M. Stanton handled administrative details.
Lincoln, inexperienced in military matters,initially deferred (顺从) to his
generals. But when their caution proved disastrous, he issued hisGeneral War
Order No. 1—explicitly commanding a general advance of all Union forces.
Somegenerals, George B. McClellan in particular, bridled at his
hands-on direction. But inconstitutional terms, Lincoln was in the
right. His most important decision was to put Ulysses S. Grant
in charge of the Union Army in 1864.Left to its own timetable, the
military establishment would never have touched Grant. Therelationship between
the president and his general provides a textbook lesson in civilian control
andpower sharing. Grant was a general who would take the fight to the enemy, and
not second-guessthe president's political decisions.
Unlike McClellan, for example, Grant
cooperatedwholeheartedly in recruiting black soldiers. For his part, Lincoln did
not meddle in operations anddid not visit the headquarters in the field unless
invited. The balance set up by Grant and Lineoln stayed more or
less in place through World War I.Not until World War II did the pendulum
finally swing back toward the White House. FranklinRoosevelt, who had been
assistant Navy secretary during World War I, was as well prepared tobe commander
in chief as any wartime president since George Washington.
单选题
According to the author, the system of power sharing between the White
House and thegenerals______
A. is unstable and strange
B. is a guarantee for American military success
C. has caused a series of quarrels
D. undermines the bases of American military power