The Generals' revolt

WND ^ | Ap 15 06 | Buchanan

[Reactionary]

Leave it to people on this board to insist that 2500 casualties involving the overthrow of two countries displays incompetence on the part of leadership.

2500 casualties? In a modern war? Over three years? The entire premise is patently idiotic. By any modern standard, or any meaningful standard of comparison at all, this war has been wildly successful.

[Laverne]

Wow, what a team player! Do it my way, or I quit. Sorry, his actions earn my disrespect, not my respect.

[brytlea]

But if he bows to the Generals' Revolt and dismisses Rumsfeld, the generals will have effected a Pentagon putsch. An alumni association of retired generals will have dethroned civilian leadership and forced the commander in chief to fire the architect of a war upon which not only Bush's place in history depends, but the U.S. position in the Middle East and the world. The commander in chief will have been emasculated by retired generals. The stakes could scarcely be higher.

Am I wrong to be a little concerned about the precident this sets?

susie

[MizSterious]

LOL!

[NonValueAdded]

Have you ever had the pleasure of sharing a condominium board, a deed-restricted community board, or a local community board with a retired general or otherwise ex-chief-high-muckey-muck? Let me tell you that it is quite the experience. They surely miss the power and having no one question their authority or judgment. Holy Peter Principle, Batman, they must be qualified if they were generals!

It wouldn't surprise me that a handful out of the hundreds would have a negative opinion on how things were or are being handled and could be coaxed back into the limelight by a flattering approach from the MSM. That doesn't mean they are right.

[BluH2o]

Consider the source folks ... this is written by Buchanan. He couldn't get elected dog catcher so he takes out his frustration on the current administration.

[MNJohnnie]

Nope. What is obviously incompetent is the Cold War Dinosaurs such as these 6 Generals wanting to wage Iraq as a conventional ground war. Counter Insurgency doesn't work that way and those who have no experience, like the 6 Generals who are the New Neo Isolationist hero's, should admit they aren't qualified to render judgment. If they came out and said "here is where we are going wrong" they might have a point. They did not do that, they just came out to grind their partisan axes.
It's all for nothing anyway. Sec Rummy "Mr Abusive" to the 6 Whiners, is going to be Sec Defense until Jan 2009 and nothing the usual choir of Fringe Freepers squawkers will change that. You are irrelevant. The world has evolved beyond your hide under the bed and wish the bad guys away dogma
Gee sorry Rummy had to drag all you failed Cold War dinosaurs kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. If it was up to these 6 losers our military would still be planning how to stop the Sovs from rolling thru the Fulda Gap. This Neo-Isolations world view DIED on 9-11 Dinosaurs. GROW up. WE cannot hide from this foe. Ignoring it will NOT make the terrorists go away.

[JCEccles]

Same gassy noises emitted by different mouths.

Incidents of highly publicized and politically motivated whining by embittered generals are found throughout American history. Gen. George McClellan's attacks on Lincoln are the stuff of legend.

[LenS]

MacArthur was a butcher when it came to handling his troops.

He was the commander that let a much smaller Japanese force crush him in the Phillipines. AFTER getting his air forces caught on the ground by the Japanese air attacks -- despite having the warning of what had happened in Pearl. Worse, he accepted an MOH for this great failure. He then spent the rest of WWII fighting the Navy more than the Japanese. He wasted great effort on taking every little Japanese post in New Guineau. In the Phillipines liberation, he once again was bled heavily by a smarter Japanese commander. His ego led him to punish anyone who embarassed him. From Wainwright (sp?) for surrendering after Duguot left to never promoting the Lt. Colonel who organized the massive Filipino resistance to sentencing Yamashita to death for resisting so strongly, MacArthur never missed a chance to zap those who hurt his ego.

It was his command that got caught flat-footed by the North Koreans at the start of the Korean War. It was his command that failed to cut off the North Koreans in the south after the US amphibious landings. It was his command that ignored the clear signs that the Chicoms were south of the Yalu in great numbers.

These cowardly retired generals are definitely in the MacArthur tradition of doing what's best for them and not what's best for their soldiers. We're better off with these vermin retired and away from the troops. Give me Rumsfeld, who has a clue and is listening to today's Pattons and Shermans, not these Beltway Bandits.

[paddles]

I'm sure these six generals are thrilled that Pat is sharing a fighting hole with them.

[bandleader]

What Douglas A.MacArthur lacked in diplomacy,he made up for in EVERY other area!His brilliant strategy in The Pacific led to VICTORY!I don't want to minimize Nimitz's contributions,but it was really MacArthur's brilliance!!!

[SuziQ]

It's interesting that most of the complaints these men have revolve around the fact that none of them like Rumsfelds 'arrogance'. One claims that the way he 'treated' the Allies made things more difficult. Which Allies; France, Germany and Russia? They didn't want us to go in to Iraq from the get-go. Rumsfeld could have kissed the Prime Ministers' butts in the centers of Paris, Berlin and Moscow, and it wouldn't have been enough to get them on board.

As far as Gen. Zinni's comments about the Bush and Rumsfeld 'Rush to War' is concerned, The UN had been fiddling around for 12 years, continually wagging it's finger at Iraq and not doing anything about Sadaam's rejection of the the resolutions it passed. In addition to that, the Democrats and the 'Allies' who Rumsfeld supposed alienated, kept demanding more and more in the way of talks, discussions, and diplomacy before troops were ever committed. How much longer did Zinni think we needed to talk the problem?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Good rant ;-)

[Echo Talon]

whats that noise that "Pat" makes? "ehhh uhhh" "oh I don't know.. it's that time of the month... you know.... eehhh uhhh
taxes.... ehhh" LOL

[freedumb2003]

"The Generals are revolting!"

"You said it! They stink on ice!"

[unionblue83]

Backbone would have required them to speak up before they waited for retirement with full beneifts. Ret. General Tommy Franks has never complained about troop strength, etc. even after he retired. He was the CIC of this war which one of the most efficient in taking an entire country. MacArthur was a great man but he made mistakes as well. Just ask the Chinese in N.Korea. How many generals that haven't retired are not complaining?

[TankerKC]

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who travels often to Iraq and supports the war, says that the generals mirror the views of 75 percent of the officers in the field, and probably more.

I'm having trouble believing that.

[ARCADIA]

I'm glad Bush is supportive of Rumsfeld and caving to these self aggrandizing idiots.

Does he have a choice; What is he going to do admit to backing the wrong guy?

[bray]

When did Conservatives like Pat become such pansies? In 3 years of Mop-up action we have lost less than 3000 soldiers and Iraqis are taking more of the load. In Korea we lost 50,000 in this length of time compared to 2700. When did we become so soft??

We do have to thank Pukeannon for Florida 00 and the absolute destruction of the Reform Party.

Pray for W and Our Troops

[DTogo]

Hey! Why not just have the military take over the US Government and decide who should be the (civilian) Secretary of Defense...!