Even military ministers have no more than a certain amount of control. It is customary that they have the right and the power to participate, from a political and military point of view, in the planning of actual operations.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
No-one is forced to stand for Parliament; no-one is compelled to become a minister. If you take on those roles, which are great privileges, you also take on big responsibilities.
There are in most states one or two ministers of war, one of whom is the minister of naval affairs.
If our system of cabinet government is to work effectively, the prime minister of the day must appoint ministers he or she trusts and then leave them to carry out that policy.
A lot of what a military officer does is not just leading troops in combat. It's also doing budgets. It's solving complex problems. If you can sit down with warlords, you can certainly sit down with different parties and folks with different interests and come out with an amenable solution.
My ministry's always been one of social activism. I think a responsible minister must be at some levels involved in the social order.
Politicians do not enter into wars lightly. It is usually the military themselves who are keener to become involved.
To handle the economy and services in a country like Iraq requires delegation of authority and the choice of competent people.
As a minister, you shouldn't imagine you know better than the technical experts in your ministry. In the end you're there to apply the political stamp of approval.
Ministers are powerless people who have nothing to boast of except their weaknesses. But when the Lord whom they serve fills them with His blessing they will move mountains and change the hearts of people wherever they go.
We ought not to forget that the government, through all its departments, judicial as well as others, is administered by delegated and responsible agents; and that the power which really controls, ultimately, all the movements, is not in the agents, but those who elect or appoint them.