The Navy can’t fight for freedom while banning books

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I took on the issue of professional military education. It may not have garnered many headlines, but education was viewed as critical from the top echelons of the Pentagon to the remote operating bases I visited in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We sharpen our warriors’ effectiveness when we develop their skills in critical thinking, languages, cultures and history. But we are now going dangerously backwards.

The New York Times reported that the U.S. Naval Academy is identifying books in the school’s Nimitz Library that may be pulled from circulation because they relate to so-called diversity, equity and inclusion. Among the 900 potential offenders: a biography of Jackie Robinson, “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.” and “Einstein on Race and Racism.”

The Chinese military is expanding. Russia is threatening Europe. But you can sleep better tonight knowing that the Navy is keeping its men and women safe from Jackie Robinson.

The move is part of the Trump administration’s campaign to purge its way through federal museums, concert halls and now the military. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — who might want to focus on threats closer to home, like how he communicates war plans — ordered the review. I’m guessing his own book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” won’t make the cut list.

It’s an interesting title, because the act of banning history books in a naval library is a betrayal of the men and women who keep us free.

The irony in this move is rich. In the name of freedom, we mustn’t let our future leaders do things like, oh, read what they want to read. We must treat them like snowflakes, so brittle and sensitive that they must be protected from the offensive views of Robinson, King, Einstein and whoever else is on the blacklist of the Navy Blue and Gold.

Our warriors need body armor, not censorship. The best of them want to build their intellectual resilience. When I visited them in Iraq, Afghanistan and our military academies at home, many consistently told me that they fought better when they had time not only to drill, but to learn. To read.

During a visit to Iraq, I remember asking Gen. Ray Odierno what he needed when he commanded the Third Infantry Battalion in Iraq. Whenever I asked that question, military leaders usually answered with a list of hardware and weapons of war. Odierno’s answer surprised me: more people who speak foreign languages, understand other cultures and had the skills to deal with various factions trapped in conflict zones.

It was a Marine who later explained to me why military education was so important: “If you know how to think, you realize you don’t have to kick in the door and start shooting; sometimes, you can find a safer way — for yourself.”

I also spoke to a soldier stationed on a remote operating base near a village called Musa Qala. His unit was preparing to assault a Taliban stronghold the next day. Amidst the maps and heavy weapons surrounding him, he said, “Anyone who’s ever studied how war is fought in Afghanistan knows one thing: We’ll take the village tomorrow, and the Taliban will retake it when we leave.”

That is exactly what happened across Afghanistan.

Instead of supporting our warriors with libraries that will give them an unvarnished telling of history, the Pentagon has decided to whitewash it. Instead of encouraging critical thinking skills, the Navy has decided to dull them.

In a world of volatile, complex military threats; of cyberwarfare and an artificial intelligence arms race; of existential enemies like Iran nearing imminent development of a nuclear warhead; the Hegseth doctrine suggests that there is nothing to fear but ink on pages, bound on the shelves in the Navy library. In the war on so-called “cancel culture,” the U.S. military is canceling history.

The brave men and women of our armed forces should receive all the training, resources, technology and weaponry they need to protect our country — books included. Our military leaders should be focused on keeping us safe from Vladimir Putin, not Jackie Robinson.

Hegseth should reflect further on the title of his book. In the story of “the betrayal of the men who keep us free,” he is the one doing the betraying.

Steve Israel represented New York in the House of Representatives for eight terms and was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2011 to 2015.