Accountability in Government

The New York Times editorial "Raising the Bar at the Pentagon" applauds Defense Secretary Robert Gates's removal of two high ranking officials in the US Air Force. Even though he has only held his position for eighteen months, Gates has already done more to hold powerful members of policy responsible than just about anyone else in Washington. When the war began, a primary concern of the president was to secure nuclear weapons stockpiles in foreign nations to keep them out of our enemy's hands. However, under service secretary Michael W. Wynne and service chief Gen. T. Michael Moseley four nuclear warheads were sent to Taiwan as opposed to the helicopter batteries that were intended for the country. Upon further investigation by the Pentagon into the Air Force's securing of sensitive military components it was revealed that the Air Force's standards had been consistently dropping over the last ten years with no one being held responsible. But after the dismissals of Wynne and Moseley by Gates it seems that we may finally have someone who is going to hold the powerful to the same standards as everyone else. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and that if a government fails to uphold the safety of its people then it is the people duty and right to change it. In our representative democracy, our president and senators serve as the people’s voice and positions such as Secretary of Defense serve as tools for implementing the policies of the president and the people. To finally see a member of the government taking decisive and effective steps in upholding the people’s safety and treating men who see themselves as elitists as equals to everyone else under the law is refreshing and brings hope for future justice in Washington. I hope that Mr. Gates continues to uphold the basic American code set up in the Declaration and that others follow his example. Mr. Gates may have just taken the first step to a better America for all people.