What About It?

Tuesday 22 June 2010 - Filed under Journalism + Military

In an ongoing conversation about General McChrystal’s comments concerning the competency of many top officials in the Obama administration, The New York Times asks

Should General McChrystal be dismissed for insubordination? Or do his remarks simply reflect a level of dissent that is not unhealthy and might be expected in a changing military culture?

I find this line of questioning “interesting” for two reasons:  1) none of the commentary about said top officials came from the general himself, but from some of his own aides, and 2) if a general would have made such comments about top Bush administration aides concerning Bush’s war policies, the media, particularly the Times, would likely have portrayed that general as a hero who has interjected some sanity in to the public conversation about a ruthless warmonger (a valid point).  If a lifelong military man in charge of a very complicated military operation cannot make negative commentary about the war strategies of lifelong politicians and bureacrats (I.e., those who have never seen war from anywhere but their comfy desk in DC, or from textbooks written by yet other “never-left-their-desk-tards”), we have some serious problems.

2010-06-22  »  madlibertarianguy