Silly me, I didn’t think the altruism of the Bush Administration could morally decimate our military any further. Yet, it has: Preventing War Leads New Naval Strategy.

In the first major revision of U.S. naval strategy in two decades, maritime officials said Wednesday they plan to focus more on humanitarian missions and improving international cooperation as a way to prevent conflicts. “We believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars,” said the new strategy announced by the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The strategy reflects a broader Defense Department effort to use aid, training and other cooperative efforts to encourage stability in fledgling democracies and create relationships around the globe that can be leveraged if a crisis does break out in a region.

“Although our forces can surge when necessary to respond to crises, trust and cooperation cannot be surged,” says the 16-page document entitled “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.” It also says forces will be concentrated “where tensions are high or where we wish to demonstrate to our friends and allies our commitment to security” — something the U.S. did earlier this year in sending an additional aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region as a show of force toward Iran. “Credible combat power will be continuously posted in the Western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf/Indian Ocean to protect our vital interests, assure our friends … and deter and dissuade potential adversaries,” the strategy document said.

…Adm. Mike Mullen — who just left his job as head of the Navy to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — has said he sees the Navy’s humanitarian work as key to the effort to defeat terrorism by winning hearts and minds. When Roughead succeeded Mullen at the Navy last week, he called in a speech for more international partnerships to make the Navy a “force for good” around the globe.

The various cuts in military funding commonly proposed by “doves” does not compare to the rejection of the basic moral purpose of the military by the supposed “hawk” who sits in the Oval Office. For more details on the effect of altruism on national defense, see Yaron Brook and Alex Epstein’s article “Just War Theory” vs. American Self-Defense. (Via Robert LC.)