Gen. Batiste, Shopping…His Critiques of the CiC
By Mona
As described by General Batiste, the message is not antiwar; it argues that continuing the war in Iraq as a civil, sectarian conflict that cannot be won by outside forces is crippling the Army and the Marine Corps. It does not deny the danger of violent Islamic extremism, he says, but contends that the war in Iraq prevents the armed services from preparing to battle other global security threats.
And it says that if terrorism, and especially terrorists armed with unconventional weapons, truly threaten America’s very survival, then the rest of the country — not just the military — should be called to sacrifice.
Well, some manly men do hate shopping, so they at least have been called to sacrifice in this most serious existential threat presented by IslmaoNaziHitlerFascism.
The Times further reports some worry that civilian control of the military implies that even retired brass ought not speak out as Gen. Batiste is doing:
Many senior officers say privately that talk like this makes them uncomfortable; when you pin that first star on your shoulder, they say, your first name becomes “General†for the rest of your life.
Hmmmmm. Well, one former General ran for president on a platform explicitly criticizing a deeply unpopular war and its prosecution — and we liked Ike enough to put him in the Oval Office. As I wrote not long ago:
The Korean War sent Harry Truman’s approval ratings into the cellar. Ike, a WWII general, ran against Truman on a promise to end the horrific loss of American lives in Korea; during the campaign season, in October of 1952, he delivered his famous I Shall Go to Korea Speech. That oration is only one instance in which Ike unambiguously and emphatically criticized the president “in a time of war.â€
Ike’s Korea Speech was no less harsh on the Commander-in-Chief during wartime then, than are these observations from Gen. Batiste in the contemporary ad at issue:
“Mr. President, you did not listen,†General Batiste says… “You continue to pursue a failed strategy that is breaking our great Army and Marine Corps. I left the Army in protest in order to speak out. Mr. President, you have placed our nation in peril. Our only hope is that Congress will act now to protect our fighting men and women.â€
So, I’d say Gen. Batiste is following in some pretty impeccable footsteps, and those of another Republican, at that.
Comment by G'Kar —
May 13, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Minor quibble: I think you mean he commanded the 1st ID in Iraq ~4 years ago. Nobody commands a division for more than about two years, and 1ID has not yet spent more than 12 months at a time in theater.
Comment by Mona —
May 13, 2007 @ 11:00 am
G’Kar — thank you!
Comment by Grant Gould —
May 13, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
You have forgotten Rule #7 of Modern Republicanism: “Ike doesn’t count.” Harry Truman was the ideal president, to be emulated by all since; Eisenhower was just a rascal in a suit.
Comment by Walt —
May 13, 2007 @ 6:57 pm
According to the Poor Man Batiste was fired by CBS for appearing in the ad.
Comment by Derek Copold —
May 13, 2007 @ 8:06 pm
Not to piss on the parade, but I’d be more impressed with the general if he’d done this in 2004, when it would have done a lot more good. Jumping on the dogpile just isn’t very impressive, but it’s par for the course with our flag officers these days.
Comment by Thoreau —
May 13, 2007 @ 8:22 pm
Damn good point, Derek. If even a fraction of the people speaking out now had come forward in 2004, things could have been very, very different.
Comment by just sayin —
May 13, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
So, I’d say Gen. Batiste is following in some pretty impeccable footsteps, and those of another Republican, at that.
I originally read this as “another Republic”. Which is probably also accurate.
Comment by nabalzbbfr —
May 13, 2007 @ 9:05 pm
I don’t understand this Eisenhower idolatry. The Eisenhower presidency was nothing to be proud about. Under Eisenhower’s “leadership” Communists were allowed to run amuck both domestically and abroad. Senator Joe McCarthy was railroaded out of the Senate on trumped up corruption charges. We squandered our victory in Korea. Ho Chi Minh was allowed to take over half of Vietnam, setting us up for our ultimate defeat. We humiliated our Israeli, British and French allies in favor of the unabashedly pro-Communist Nasser. We trashed the Munroe doctrine and allowed Castro to establish a Communist beachhead in Cuba. We let the Communists massacre Hungarian freedom fighters. I could go on and on, but I would succumb to apoplexy.
Comment by Steve —
May 13, 2007 @ 9:49 pm
Awesome, a Bircher! 100 XP for Mona.
Comment by Walt —
May 13, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
If you succumb to apoplexy, could you post a video to YouTube? I think we’d all find it educational.
Comment by Thoreau —
May 14, 2007 @ 7:35 am
This guy is either a deliberately over-done parody or else he’s in desperate need of medication.
Comment by well, actually —
May 14, 2007 @ 5:58 pm
Sometimes I wonder what the most powerful nation on Earth could have done instead of invading Iraq.