Loftis in Christian Science Monitor: Perception of US Military in Middle East
Amb. Robert Loftis, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, said the perception of the American military has shifted after a decade of fighting terrorism in the Middle East.
Loftis made the argument in a February 16, 2016 article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled, “Why is America Losing Faith in Its Military?”
From the text of the article:
In addition, a decade of fighting in the Middle East under the banner of a “war on terrorism” has only seemed to make the terrorist threat more dangerous. International terrorism is the leading threat to the US, according to another Gallup poll this month. The resulting perception is that the American military simply hasn’t done its job the way it did in previous decades, says Robert Loftis, a professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and a former official in the US State Department.
“This really is about perceptions,” he adds. “We’ve been used to thinking, ‘We’ll send the military in to fix everything,’ and now we’re seeing, ‘Well, the military can’t fix these problems.’ That leads to a perception that the American military isn’t as strong as it could and should be.”
Robert G. Loftis served in the State Department and Foreign Service from 1980 to 2012, where he held a wide variety of assignments, including Acting Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (2010-2012), Special Representative for Avian and Pandemic Influenza (2009), Senior Adviser for Security Negotiations and Agreements (2004-2007), Ambassador to Lesotho (2001-2004) and Deputy Chief of Mission in Mozambique (1999-2001). You can read more about him here.