Yeah, right, that only happened under Rumsfeld. The Penatagon is the world's largest bureaucracy. I have worked as a government bureaucrat for 36 years, almost 8 years in DOD and 28 years in the State Department. This is the way government bureaucracies work and have always worked.
...or, in the instance of General Shinsicki, forced retirement.
Not true, Shinseki served his full term and retired on schedule.
The general officers now raising the issue, and these are critical issues of great importance, do so only after they retire in faithfulness to their oath and chain of command. <
That is the way they would like to be perceived, rather than be seen as petty bureaucrats with bruised egos or bent on personal ambition. Admiral Crowe received his ambassadorship to London and Wesley Clark ran for President and will do so again. Zinni is selling books after his own failures at CENTCOM and as a middle east envoy. Swartzkopf made commercials. Many are receiving speaking fees and acting as analysts on TV. Some prance around at the Dem national convention acting as shills and potted plants for John Kerry. Very few are really dealing with great issues. It is all about me, me, wonderful me.
An angry deflection of the issues and an equally angry illustration of someone who dislikes senior military as a group. Perhaps you recall both Presidents Reagan and Bush-the-Elder receiving millions in speaking fees after leaving office, authoring books, etc.