R2P, Military Intervention, and Civil-Military BalanceThis morning’s UNSC vote on Syria kicked up a new round of sometimes contentious discussions in the ongoing debate on what a US intervention in Syria would or should look like and, more basically, whether the US should get involved in the Syrian crisis at all. However, Mr. Munson is justified and absolutely correct in calling out policymakers and supporters of R2P, and military action in general, for failures to consider the second and third order effects or the inevitably-spiraling financial and, most importantly, human costs of any military action. The idea that only those with military experience should be allowed to make defense policy/weigh in on the country’s use of military force is a dangerous one. However, the other crucial thing to remember is that the civil-military relationship goes both ways. However, in the real world, the dimensions of what is required to conduct even the “limited” intervention suggested by R2P fans is far greater than what they imagine.