Brent Scowcroft's legacy is more relevant than ever right now

Cambridge

BRENT Scowcroft, who died on Aug 6, aged 95, was the model of a modern lieutenant-general. A graduate of West Point whose career as a fighter pilot was cut short by a broken back suffered in a P-51 Mustang crash in 1949, Mr Scowcroft went on to serve three presidents and advise others. He was the national security adviser to US Presidents Gerald Ford and George HW Bush, and, to this day, when scholars and practitioners discuss the best way to organise the National Security Council, they invariably refer to the "Scowcroft model".

Mr Scowcroft was famously fair-minded and believed that his job was not to lobby for a particular policy, but to make sure that the president was aware of all opinions in his government, and that all key advisers felt that their voices had been heard. Beyond his concern for establishing an orderly process, Mr Scowcroft was devoted to public service. The concept of duty he learned as a cadet at West Point was reinforced by his Mormon faith.