Lessons from Bill Clements' Pentagon legacy Lessons from Bill Clements' Pentagon legacy 1/1
File/The Associated Press
Bill Clements (left) is sworn in as deputy secretary of defense by his boss, Secretary of Defense Elliot Richardson, during a ceremony in January 1973 at the Pentagon. Holding the Bible is Adm. Thomas Moorer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Many Americans and others around the world believe the U.S. is a nation in decline. The economy is stagnant, other global powers are advancing, and American foreign policy suffers a series of strategic setbacks in Asia and the Middle East. Our government tries to withdraw our troops from the longest war in our nation's history. The Pentagon budget incurs severe cuts while U.S. citizens lose faith in their political leadership.If this sounds like the U.S. today, it was also the situation besetting our nation 40 years ago; 2013 feels a lot like 1973.In 1973, it looked as if America was in decline while the Soviet Union was an ascendant power. Today many believe that China and Russia are gaining global influence at our expense. In 1973, the last American troops left Vietnam. Today the Obama administration is drawing down our remaining forces from Afghanistan. In 1973, the Yom Kippur War ushered in the OPEC petroleum embargo, which throttled our economy and diminished our influence in the Middle East. Today the chaos of the Arab Awakening has also undermined our regional influence.In 1973, the defense budget faced major cuts, while the Watergate scandal severely eroded public trust in government. Today, the Pentagon is also enduring substantial budget cuts, while dysfunction in Washington leaves Americans dissatisfied with our political leadership.In 1973, President Richard Nixon selected Bill Clements as deputy secretary of defense and charged Clements with running the Pentagon.Many Texans today remember Clements for his two terms as governor. Yet Clements left a notable legacy from his leadership at the Pentagon for U.S. national security policy that also bears remembering. To this end, the University of Texas at Austin has established the Clements Center for History, Strategy and Statecraft.The mission of the Clements Center is to apply the insights of history to current national security policy and train the next generation of American national security leaders. Bill Clements' leadership at the Pentagon from 1973 to 1977 offers five lessons for American national security policy  decline is not inevitable. Rejecting the counsels of despair at the time, Clements worked with Presidents Nixon and Gerald Ford and national security adviser Henry Kissinger to lay the groundwork for national renewal. They did this by strengthening diplomatic partnerships with rising nations like Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and China, expanding American energy production, and developing new weapons systems to project American power. Together these steps built a foundation for the economic and strategic renaissance our nation experienced the following decade under President Ronald Reagan.Even with diminished resources, we still need to invest in our future. Despite congressional resistance and major defense cuts, Clements developed new weapons platforms such as the F-16 and F-18 fighter jets, the M-1 tank, the Trident nuclear submarine missile and the Tomahawk cruise missile  -  all of which formed the backbone of American force projection for the next several decades.National security policy needs to keep pace with technology. Drawing on the latest in satellite technology, Clements upgraded the Defense Department's worldwide communications system and surveillance capabilities, allowing military leaders to better communicate with each other and our allies  -  and to more closely monitor our adversaries.Success tomorrow depends on getting the right people today. Clements made a priority of hiring business leaders to work in civilian positions at the Pentagon, while promoting innovative military officers to higher positions and strategic command posts. He also mentored young policymakers such as future Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger. Clements' focus on personnel paid leadership dividends for an entire generation.The world needs a strong America. Clements frequently admonished his staff to "never send the president of the United States to the conference table as the head of the second-strongest nation in the world." He knew the world would be more peaceful, free and prosperous with American leadership as the global superpower.Drawing on these insights from history  -  and Clements' response  -  can help guide our leaders today.William Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center at the University of Texas at Austin and an LBJ School of Public Affairs faculty member, may be contacted at .
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