Posted on 11/27/2009 8:45:33 AM PST by SeekAndFind
I don’t disagree with most of what Glenn Beck says in this piece. Courts-martial for Navy SEALS who allegedly gave a terrorist a fat lip while in custody? Does the Navy court-martial sailors who give each other fat lips? Would a SEAL stop at a fat lip if he actually got out of control? (I know a couple of SEALs, and I highly, highly doubt it.) Few would disagree with the thought that we should put the men and women who dedicate their lives to this country as our first priority, either, and that we should give them the resources to win fights when we put them in the middle of a war. But going on national television and advising them not to re-enlist? Beck does that here, and that’s one step too far (via The Right Scoop):
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR VIDEO
I’d have a problem with this advice if it was given privately, let alone to millions watching on television. Men and women enlist in the volunteer service to defend America, not to pick and choose which Commander in Chief they follow. They’re professionals who serve with honor regardless of the politics of the day. If they feel as though they’re not getting the support they need, they will know it better than those of us sitting stateside arguing over politics and policy. They will not need us to suggest that they bail out of the military if those are truly the conditions under which they serve.
Had someone like Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews gone on the air in 2005-8 and told millions (well, thousands in that case) that men and women should refuse re-enlistment because George Bush had underresourced the fight in Iraq — which seems indisputable now, especially after the success of the surge — conservatives would have screamed from the rooftops, and been right to do so. Furthermore, the problem in Iraq of underresourcing and strategic drift and decline lasted more than twice as long then as Obama’s been in office now.
We’re a nation at war, with the best and most professional army in history. We should trust that they can calculate the benefits and drawbacks of reenlistment with much greater insight than civilians, and refrain from using that process for political purposes — and especially refrain from encouraging our best and brightest to leave when we need them the most.
Update: Yes, he really did tell his nephew not to re-enlist:
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE SECOND VIDEO
you’re still ok to enlist to be a REMF.
Again, wrong.
The Oath is to the Constitution, not America.
America, might have different ideas and ideals, every Administration is different.
Obama wants our military bloodied and humiliated.
Beck can be a really stupid A-hole at times.
You don’t have to say everything you think and feel to millions of people. I think he should have kept this conversation between him and his nephew.
Did he serve?????
It isn’t just the Navy Seals case, which is bad enough. It’s also the way they’ll persecute anyone in the military for doing their duty, as they have in several cases we’ve followed here on FR. Lately, the ROE have become almost impossible—that any of our troops survive this nonsense is a miracle in and of itself. No, I would NOT recommend a lad join the military in these times, under this President, under these circumstances. Re-upping is another matter. They’re adults, and they know what the score is. If asked, I’d say what I did in this post, but really, it’s up to them.
Would you advise someone in your family to re-up at this time?
Under-resourcing a fight is FAR FAR different than prosecuting the people who are putting their lives on the line at the vanguard of a fight, and criminalizing the necessary and proper actions in pursuit of that fight. This analogy is laughable.
As a 10 year Marine Vet, it breaks my heart that I had to tell my children that I did not want them to enlist in the service as long as nobama, or some one like him is in the Whitehouse.
I would still give my life for what this country is/should be; I don’t want my kids to die for what it is becoming, though.
‘under this President, under these circumstances’
BS. Ask Lt. Col West. This act of attacking our military was done by the previous Admin as well.
We need the good kids to go in still. The training might become important,,, and we don’t want only Obamabots to get it. Obama would love nothing more than to scare away traditional Americans from the military. Then he can fill it with his own,,,,,
And his security force will be created without any change of law. No,,, Beck is wrong on this one.
Glenn is right. If the government won’t allow our troops to win, the troops should seriously consider whether to continue serving the government when their enlistments end.
He isn’t advocating armed insurrection or disobedience of legal orders.
Do you think it is wise to be set on the map in Afganistan like peices of a game of Risk? That is what Obumble is doing. I do think our men who want to serve should do what they want but then again why? They are being used as lemnings... Being used in Afganistan as political pawns... Obama is an a-hole.
This ain’t one of them.
With show trails like those for the Fallujah Marines & more recently the Navy Seals, B.S. rules of engagement, a general lack of leadership & commitment by both the White House & Pentagon, an unwillingness to call terrorists terrorists, and an asshat CIC that says, “I’m always worried about using the word ‘victory,’ because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur” I can understand where Beck is coming from.
Does it matter?
Something that occurred to me, however is how did a lot of conservatives feel about FDR back in 1941? Yet, despite who was in the White House they still did their patriotic duty during the war. What if people chose not to fight Hitler and Tojo just because they didn’t like the guy in the White House?
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