Gen Charles Swannack- AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus
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SCREWING UP A TWO CAR FUNERAL PROCESSION PART DEUX
WHO WOULD YOU WANT IN A FOXHOLE BESIDE YOU, THE RETIRED GENERAL OF THE 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION, CHARLES SWANNACK ? OR DONALD RUMSFELD? OR GEORGE W. BUSH? OR DICK CHENEY?
What I've said all along about the Secretary of Defense is that he is no different from any of his predecessors; all of those guys put their own stamp on the military. But Rumsfeld's policies and edicts have directly caused us to be in an untenable and unwinnable war with no end in sight. And, there are no checks and balances on him.
The Commander in Chief, in his arrogance, (I am the one who decides who goes and stays) has allowed Rumsfeld to drastically create what qualifies as an unchecked disaster in Iraq. There is no decision that I can think of in Iraq which has not narrowed our options and that Rumsfeld's fingerprints are not on.
We have needed fresh minds from the very beginning. To the Generals that I respect, it is obvious that the Secretary of Defense has to go. To many in Congress that voted for the war, and whom I also think are reasonable men, Rumsfeld must now go.
The war in Iraq has been incredibly mismanaged and person after person, with any knowledge or who was a "player" in the Iraq war, has said it: General Charles H. Swannack, General Jack Keane, General Gregory Newbold,General John Batiste, General Paul Van Riper, General Paul Eaton, General Bernard Trainor, General Wesley Clark, ... RUMSFELD MUST GO! The ways that Iraq have been mismanaged are legion and well documented. The fault is at Rumsfeld's feet.
Lack of Leadership
AFP/Getty Images/File
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And, it is more crucial than ever because we have a Commander In Chief who doesn't know his posterior from a hole in the ground in areas like this.
It doesn't mean that he's not smart, it simply seems he resides in a fog when it relates to Rumsfeld and the war.
We understand that no President is going to admit that he screwed up, but it seems to be more than that with him-he can't get his hands around it. So, what does he do? He defers to Rumsfeld who simply is out of fresh ideas, if he ever had any.
We need somebody new to look at the mess we call Iraq. Will they come to any different conclusion? Probably not, but we need to at least be searching for a creative, innovative leader.
Criticizing The Secretary
Gen. John Batiste AP Photo/Murad Sezer
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Should the Generals be able to do it? Absolutely, when they are retired. Why not? They are civilians. It is in the best interest of the country even for them to give a critique of where we are with the war.
In fact, I think they do a disservice when they do not. Tommy Franks, who commanded the invasion and is now speaking out in defense of Rumsfeld, for example, is merely a cheerleader for Rumsfeld's ideas. Not good!
The unwritten rule in the military is that the Generals go along. Some of it is their nature, the "can do" mantra. The military's purpose as every General or officer for that matter will tell you is not to decide to go to war; but, when told to do so, execute to win wars when given the orders.
The Generals speaking out now have it right, in my opinion. General Gregory Newbold, who was involved in the planning from the beginning said this, "The decision was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions--or bury the results." We know what that means, a President who was in the National Guard; Rumsfeld, a Navy pilot who did not see combat; and Cheney of course, who, during Vietnam, had other priorities.
Why Do The Generals Go Along?
Gen. Greg Newbold- (AFP/File/Joyce Naltchayan)
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Few people outside the military, really "get" the military unless they have been a part of it. In a sense, it is a bureaucracy with its own rules and protocols at every level. And, the Generals in particular, have their own rules. As I have often said, the best leaders usually don't get to be Generals.
This doesn't mean that the Generals are not good leaders, it simply means that in terms of leadership, the best usually don't make it. And, why? Simply, really creative and innovative thinkers don't make it to the top very often in the military because the military can't tolerate them, i.e; they are labeled mavericks.
More often than not, some of these guys who don't become Generals are just high intuitives who look at things with different eyes, not afraid to take chances and color outside the lines. They usually get out of the military and become CEOs or carve out careers in other areas that appreciate what they bring to the table.
Those officers who stay in and work the system with sponsors, having all the right tickets including command-all the other things that the system says they should have-get themselves in a position to become a General. Few make it. Those who do become General, more likely than not, are good, but rarely great.
Gen Jack Keane- AFP/Getty Images/File
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The military is built around the chain of command and it is the one inviolable thing in the military. You follow the "chain of command," often to your own detriment. Meaning, that the chain of command can get in the way of things getting done; it is the equivalent of bureaucracy. But, it is followed!
Why didn't Rumsfeld listen to the Generals? For one thing, with few exceptions, they didn't pound on the table and draw swords. The Generals went along; so, they are not "scot" free, they have to bear some responsibility in this entire process.
To his great credit, former Chief of Staff of the Army, General Eric Shinseki, had warned Congress that occupying Iraq would require hundreds of thousands of troops. He was rewarded by being publicly humiliated and neutralized by Rumsfeld. I would have quit.
Will The Revolt Of The Generals Do Any Good?
Donald Rumsfeld (Yuri Gripas/Files/Reuters)
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The short answer, NO! To me, it goes way beyond the conflict of civilian and military. This is not an issue; for one thing, modern day generals are not strong enough, they are too interested in their careers.
What I liked about the old time generals like George Patton or Douglas MacArthur, to a degree, they either thought they were right or were bold enough to be outrageous enough to be fired. We don't have any of those in the military now. Or, I don't know any of them.
We're in a hell of a mess in Iraq and will continue to be as long as Rumsfeld stays in place. There's no savior out there to replace him, no magic to be had but there might be someone out there with different ideas which could just help us stop the bleeding. KT
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Update Friday April 21, 2006:
2nd Duke Stripper Didn't See Alleged Rape By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer (Yahoo)
Lacrosse T-shirts selling fast at Duke
By GREGORY PHILLIPS : Durham Herald-Sun
Update Wednesday April 19, 2006:
From ABC By Chris Cuomo, Eric Avram, and Lara Setrakian
2 Duke Lacrosse Players Are Arrested by Tim Whitmire, Associated Press Writer (Philadelphia Inquirer)
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
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THE CASE OF THE STRIPPER AND THE DUKE LACROSSE TEAM-what a great title for a novel.
Unless you have been on a different planet, you have heard of the stripper and the Duke lacrosse team. Up until a couple of years
ago, I didn't even know there was such a thing as lacrosse. I did know of a favorite town in Wisconsin name LaCrosse.
But a game? Never heard of it.
Then a buddy invited me to see his son play. He actually guilted me into it, reminding me that I had promised to watch his kids play soccer. Why not lacrosse? OK!!!!!!!!!!
Well, lacrosse is some game! It's fast and doesn't seem to have any rules. It is soccer with sticks, but skillful; and, to be honest, I enjoyed it.
In fact, I witnessed one of the supreme acts of sportsmanship while watching my buddy's son play. An opposing player clipped my friend's son and sent him sprawling and a fight was sure to ensue. But Brian, my buddy's son, jumped up and hugged the guy. Wow. I like this lacrosse.
Well, forget that, I found out later, hugging ain't one of the rules in lacrosse.
Of late, the Duke lacrosse team has taken it on the shins and rightly so, I guess. They hired a stripper and she later claimed three of the team members raped her. Now, no DNA is present.
Regardless, these guys should not be engaging in underage drinking or hiring strippers.
What are we to think? Boorish behavior, frat boys, what? Maybe we will find out more this week.
Bunch of Privileged White Boys
(http://texastech.cstv.com)
| Well, maybe there is some of "privileged white boy" syndrome at play, but there is also a culture, from what I read, existing at Duke. It surely is not just Duke but those anywhere who "drink at the fountain of college sports." We can rightly call it worship. Geez, when Duke didn't make the final four in basketball, people were asking what for. Come on! Then we see Coach K. more on TV in American Express commercials than we see Colin Farrell in the movies.
Duke History
(http://www.byways.org)
| I've never been much of a Duke man, being a native North Carolinian- too many Yankees, but it is a good school no doubt about it. And, tobacco money still permeates the place.
I'm probably one of the few
who can recall the story of how Duke came to be. It was Trinity College and the Dukes showed up and said, Hey, want some real money, like billions, just change the name to Duke. You got it, Trinity who?
Over the years, Duke has gained a reputation as an academically superior school. It has a Medical School, Divinity School, Law School and on and on.
And, now we know they have a lacrosse team. My suspicion is that they are a bunch of yankees. All that aside, are they guilty? Probably not by of the letter of the law. But bad behavior is surely in evidence. And, it just didn't happen.
Enter The Lacrosse Team
(AP Photo/ Sara D. Davis)
| The season is gone, the coach is gone, and Duke's reputation is tarnished! Good enough punishment? We'll see.
Think about it.
What do we expect was going to happen with a bunch of drunk twenty year olds and a couple of strippers? They were going to be sitting around reading the Bible?
And, how about the lacrosse team member, who sent the e-mail claiming he wanted to invite strippers to his dorm room, kill them, and skin them? In his e-mail ,the lacrosse player wanted to "skin the bitches." Are he and his teammates sisters under the skin? I think so.
This emailer joins the recent academy of politicians and perverts who often think they are above the law. Think of bureaucrats like the Department of Homeland Security employee who just got pinched for soliciting a teenager over the internet.
Disconnect between Two Universities and The Locals
Duke is not any different than most schools. There's a disconnect between Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and the locals in Durham, North Carolina, From what I read(or it just could be the media) a racial divide as well as a divide between an elite private school and a state supported school is emerging.
The defendents, the Lacrosse team members, attend Duke. The accuser, the African-American exotic dancer or stripper attends North Carolina Central. Duke is upper class and predominantly white. North Carolina Central's students are predominantly black and Durham's population is almost half black.(Reminds me of the similar tension in the movie, Breaking Away , in which the local teenagers were looked down upon by the students at the university.)
The best illustration of what might have happened in the Old West comes from my favorite TV mini series, Lonesome Dove involving the characters Call, the righteous curmudgeon, and Newt, his son. Newt gets a sound thrashing from some stranger because he is loyal to a fault. Call witnesses it and beats the stranger nearly to death and finally says to the onlookers, "I can't stand rude behavior and won't tolerate it."
Well, what happened at Duke goes beyond rude behavior (and yes, I know, by law and for humane purposes we can not beat-up people- just an illustration.)
If these young men did not rape this young woman, they deserve an apology from her and she needs to suffer consequence.
Nevertheless, these guys have no excuse for the underage drinking and strippers.
A Suggestion
My idea for the Duke Lacrosse team is a stint in the Army. Learn some discipline, civil behavior, true teamwork, a little sacrifice, and how to respect females under any and all circumstances.
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| DVD AND BOOK SHORT TAKES BY JOHN HENRY LEE
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The Snow Walker , based on a true story, is a thought-provoking DVD . A bush pilot crashes in the wasteland of Canada with his very sick passenger, an Intuit, native to the country. In poignant moments of culture issues, the pilot suffering from his own war time PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) learns what true emotional and physical survival means.
Playing by Heart.
Rent this DVD. It's kind of a relational Crash. The movie follows several couples and their issues: infidelity, secret lives, fear of commitment-all the hot button issues that sell books and movies.
The big find in this movie is Jon Stewart(The Daily Show), who is really good. I was pretty impressed. This is a slow Saturday or Sunday afternoon "watch" with your significant other beside you sipping a glass of wine and preparing to discuss the movie. This movie had some nice twists; and, like Crash, the movie allows for redemption.
In his book, America At The Crossroads Democracy, Power, and The Neo-Conservative Legacy
, Francis Fukuyama denounces neo-conservatism. Fukuyama was once known as a neo-conservative himself. A neo-conservative is for interventionist aggressive American foreign policy. Neo-conservatives are more ambivalent on social and economic issues.
Fukuyama has backed off from his neo-conservative views because he thinks the American government is too interventionist and believes now that the military option should only be used as a last resort and most foreign policy issues should be handled by the State Department. He was against the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has taken issue with conservatives like Charles Krathammer(some call neo-conservative) who called "Iraq an unqualified success."
In the New York Times Magazine in 2006, Fukuyama wrote that "neoconservatives
believed that history can be pushed along with the right application of power and will. Leninism was a tragedy in its Bolshevik version, and it has returned as farce when practiced by the United States. Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support."
Fukuyama makes some valid points(some I agree with, some I don't) and history will definitely be the judge on whether we succeeded in establishing a civilized, decent, nonbelligerent, pro-western society in Afghanistan and Iraq.
NASTY. Simply nasty. This is what my Mom would say. This is what some people, like Michael Savage, seem to be; they wouldn't know civility if it ran over them. You can disagree with someone without being so off the charts NASTY.
I would like to use another word: a--h----.
Michael Savage is appropriately named. I've often wondered if his last name is real or did he make it up.
Bernard Goldberg included Savage in his book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America(July 2005) as number 61. Goldberg said "Savage's brand of over-the-top bile...puts him right in there with the angriest haters on the Left..." Even Rush Limbaugh's rants aren't as bad.
I read a few lines from Savage's newest book and "Yes Mom, you are right, some people are just nasty."
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Now Available: Newly revised paperback General Lee:Father of the Airborne.