One of the reasons the opinions of leftist activists and retired generals should be discounted is that they are feeble and will never amount to a hill of beans.
Um - have you seen the 'feeble' people you describe (I'm talking about the retired generals - not the leftists), without seeing you I'm willing to bet they have a higher IQ than you (and me for that matter) and could beat the hell out of you if they had to.
There is nothing feeble about most of them!