General Revolt

SignOnSanDiego.com > In Iraq -- Generals opposing Iraq war break with military tradition: "The generals acted independently, coming in their own ways to the agonizing decision to defy military tradition and publicly criticize the Bush administration over its conduct of the war in Iraq.

What might be called The Revolt of the Generals has rarely happened in the nation's history.

In op-ed pieces, interviews and TV ads, more than 20 retired U.S. generals have broken ranks with the culture of salute and keep it in the family. Instead, they are criticizing the commander in chief and other top civilian leaders who led the nation into what the generals believe is a misbegotten and tragic war.

The active-duty generals followed procedure, sending reports up the chain of command. The retired generals beseeched old friends in powerful positions to use their influence to bring about a change..."

That is important and interesting and something you should read so click on the link. There is, however, a separate issue I'd like to bring-up again. My bold:

"While on active duty, Eaton did not criticize his civilian bosses – almost to a man, the generals agree active-duty officers have no business doing that. But he was candid in media interviews. Building an Iraqi army, he warned, would take years, and the effort might never succeed.."

Unless the President is a Democrat then apparently it is just fine to criticize the Commander-In-Chief. For a recent example, think Colin Powell and the Great Gays In The Military controversy during Bill Clinton's initial year. Maybe Powell didn't go on teevee talking about the evil of Teh Gay but he was certainly there in the background running from Senate to House committees crying about gays. (I don't remember all the details and the timeline and I've got other things do rather than spend the evening on Google looking for data snipes, thank you very much.) He was wrong then on two counts: one, gays in the military, and two, undermining the Commander-In-Chief. If Clinton were a Republican, maybe Powell wouldn't never have done all that backstabbing, or maybe if he were a Republican and did voice opposition to the Big Cheese, he would be called a traitor. Anyway, nice to see some of the generals have finally come out of the closet.

From the comments at the link (my bold): "Just because we have the right to speak our minds doesn't mean it's always the right thing to do. Retired officers especially generals really need to keep their opinions to themselves at least until the conflict is over and our troops are out of harms way. Whatever value they may bring to the national debate is more than outweighed by the propaganda value they provide our enemies."

Nice sentiment. What if the conflict never ends? The War on Terror is forecasted to last for the next century. That's a long time to hold your breath.