Posted on 12/03/2008 1:22:58 PM PST by neverdem
WHEN New York Times "investigative reporter" David Barstow was in kindergarten, a young Army officer lay in a hospital bed recovering from one of the three grievous wounds he would suffer in the course of four combat tours in our nation's service.
Barstow never felt compelled to serve his country in any capacity. Instead, he dedicated his life to that godlike calling, journalism, in which those who never actually do anything are empowered to attack those who get things done.
That wounded officer, Barry McCaffrey, would rise from his hospital bed and, despite losing most of the use of one arm, go on to wear four stars. Then, at a president's request, he took off his uniform to become our nation's drug czar.
On leaving office, McCaffrey didn't grab the big bucks, as too many generals and Cabinet officials do. He spent most of his time teaching at West Point - a losing financial proposition. He also wrote and spoke, with experience and insight, on national-security affairs. Eventually, he advised a few private-sector clients on how our government works.
Then came the Iraq invasion. Although many senior officers, in and out of uniform, were appalled at key decisions by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, most only muttered among themselves and kept their heads down. Among the few retired flag officers who spoke out against the disastrous occupation policy (or lack thereof), McCaffrey's was the defining voice.
It cost him. He became persona non grata in the Rumsfeld Pentagon. But McCaffrey placed his country and our troops above his personal advantage.
In the end, Rumsfeld fell, while McCaffrey remained standing, vindicated. The hero remained a hero.
Yet a 5,000-word, front-page "investigative report" in Sunday's New York Times tried to...
--snip--
The greatest contradiction in terms isn't "military intelligence," but "journalistic integrity."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
You can argue with Peters, but I had to post the article for the last sentence.
Mexican border?
McCaffrey has not conducted himself with honor in a very long time.
No matter what his faults, I'd still take McCaffrey over anyone at the NYT.
Thank you for posting this article.
There is something very strange going on with this political hit piece directed against General McCaffrey.
I am not a supporter of General McCaffrey and thought his criticism of the Iraq War strategy to be opportunistic in preparation for another Presidential run but the timing of this piece in the NYT is curious.
My speculation is that McCaffrey was being considered for some type of important job in the new administration and his enemies leaked carefully selected information to a reporter in order to preemptively scuttle the job offer.
Thoughts anyone?
I think Barry McCaffrey was the officer at the Clinton White House who was told not to wear his uniform as they didn’t want uniforms there. He was then schmoozed by Clinton, raised in rank and went over to the dark side. I do not respect him for his behavior since that time.
Agenda driven coverage.
"So they went after a great man with McCarthy-era tactics, . . ."
yitbos
McCaffrey was a “traditional” Army bureaucrat who wanted 500K troops invading Iraq rather than the 170K Rummy was allotted. He was probably shocked that we could depose Saddam with those limited resources, and held it against Rummy for proving him wrong.
He also did not buy into Rummy cleaning up the Pentagon. He is one of many in government who seriously sabotaged Rummy to prevent changes in the status quo.
My speculation is that McCaffrey was being considered for some type of important job in the new administration and his enemies leaked carefully selected information to a reporter in order to preemptively scuttle the job offer.
Thoughts anyone?
Yes, this is strange, and neither do I support McCaffrey. It could be, in spite of his obvious antagonism toward Rumsfeld's vision, that what's coming down the pike is much more distasteful to McCaffrey, and so he must be neutralized.
Something like this -- i.e. the US Military as part of an international peacekeeping force, dedicated to nation-building, and forget all that nasty fighting.
There needs to be a distinction drawn here. The forces deployed were more than adequate for the task of taking Saddam out but no where close to what was needed after the fact.
Ralph Peters is so self indulgent that he fries my ass. McCaffrey just like Wesley Clark are the Perfumed Princess’s that almost destroyed our military. They can both kiss this 26 year Navy Pilot’s ass.
Sounds like you're confusing McCaffrey with Weasley Clark, unless you can point out when McCaffery ever ran for President.
He also did not buy into Rummy cleaning up the Pentagon. He is one of many in government who seriously sabotaged Rummy to prevent changes in the status quo.
I have read many statements on Free Republic over the years that reflected a profound ignorance of the facts, but this one ranks right up there in the ignorance hall of fame.
1. McCaffrey is no bureaucrat. He holds two awards of the Distinguished Service Cross in addition to his multiple Purple Hearts - He was and is a warrior and acts like one.
2. Rumsfeld approved the war plan, and then went to great and deceptive lengths to see to it that Franks would not have the forces to execute it. This was because Rumsfeld believed that we could do in Iraq what we did in Afghanistan: win with few troops on the ground. He wanted to demonstrate that his vision of air power writ large could win any war that we would face - and he wanted the proof of Iraq and Afghanistan to bolster his plan to decimate the Army and Marine Corps (especially the Army).
The war and subsequent events have clearly demonstrated how utterly wrong Rumsfeld was, and we are still paying the price of his arrogance and shortshightedness.
3. The shrinking numbers of Rumsfeld fans, many of whom hang out on this site, are profoundly uninformed about what the man did as Secretary of Defense and why many professional soldiers hold him responsible for the debacle of the last 5 years. He did not help either his President or his country, IMO.
4. We were able to capture Bagdhad with fewer troops than planned in the most rapid armored attack in the history of the world thanks to the courage and competence of our soldiers and Marines, helped by the incompetence and cowardice of Saddam's sorry Army. But, we payed a big price for getting to the objective with insufficient mass to consolidate the victory. That was Rumsfeld arrogance at work.
5. I've never liked Barry McCaffrey very much, he can be a bit of an a$$. But, I've always respected him as a soldier and a warrior and have seen him in action in both peace and war. Our country is lucky to have him. I was not happy with his public criticisms during the opening phases of the war, but I have to admit that he was right and he was one of the few with the courage to speak up.
Failure to consolidate the victory was not Rummy’s. It more likely belongs to Paul Bremer, Jay Garner and GWB’s “nice guy” indecisiveness.
Your attack on my statements was so over the top that I give it little credibility, especially when you follow up with information that largely qualifies as a non sequitor.
The award for profound ignorance (complicated by profound lack of logic) is yours for the taking.
Have you read the CONPLAN?
Have you read the OPLAN?
Do you understand the changes to the OPLAN that had to be made by CENTCOM in order to adjust to SECDEF’s refusal to authorize certain increments of the TPFDL?
Whom do you think Bremer and Garner worked for? You are certainly correct that they along with Sanchez failed in many ways, but their boss did more than his share.
I believe that you, and the rest of the GO RUMMY crowd are profoundly ignorant of decisions that were made and of motivations and agendas that were at play. Fortunately those of your ilk are rapidly diminishing in numbers as an understanding of the facts become more widely known. Your condition is not uncurable.
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