[Newspoetry] Move-On Betrayed

[DL Emerick]

Somehow, generals have become sacrosanct or above criticism in American
politics.  You can see that alleged fact in public opinion polls, even
before the events of this past fortnight.  When polled, asking whom they
most trust, military officers ranked higher than Congress, the Presidency or
almost any of our once proud and free democratic institutions.

On the face of it, moreover, the Petraeus flap simply ignores the ultimate
facts of the primary question: does Petraeus suffer from optimistic failure
and a lack of humble objectivity.  (1) He failed in training the very Iraqi
security forces which were supposed to make our troops redundant and thus
withdrawable.  (2) His command has been rife with large-scale corruption of
officers for governmental contracts, including personnel closely under his
supervision and in his chain of command.  Not least of all, General Petraeus
has an inveterate practice, all too much like that deplorable one of Mr.
Bush, of cherry-picking facts and always proclaiming that he now sees the
fabled light at the end of the tunnel; sadly, his past proclamations have
proven to be false, in fact, even if not knowingly and intentionally false.

All these facts were well spotlighted by Move-On's in-your-face ad.  Yet, in
the face of controversy, many Senators, including the most honorable Senator
Feingold and his generally undistinguished Wisconsin colleague Kohl,
apparently buckled and voted for the Cornyn amendment resolving to condemn
those who criticize our military leaders.

This Amendment is unAmerican to say the least.  It would amount to an
informal Constitutional rule, only the Commander-in-Chief may criticize the
conduct of the war by his generals, thus allowing the Presidency to set-up
generals, one after another, much as Bush has done, as the fall guys for his
abjectly failed policies in Iraq and the Middle East.

NO PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN A DEMOCRACY IS IMMUNE TO CRITICISM.  It is a travesty
of the constitution and our republic that this sad amendment was adopted to
express the sense of the Senate.  It reinforces the image of the Senate --
not as an august font of wisdom and experience -- but as spineless and
craven do-nothings, puffed up vane egos.

Finally, and most critically, let us remember, there are standards for
performance.  The President asked for an increase in forces, to clear the
way for political reconciliation in Iraq.  He proposed standards for
determining its success.  The standards were accepted and adopted.  General
Petraeus accepted the task of implementing the use of the surge forces, to
accomplish this latest revision of our aims in Iraq.  Now, many months
later, with more troops dead and wounded, with more billions spent, with the
future of Iraq apparently in worse condition, the General reports, the
political standards were largely unmet, even though he claims to have made
some headway on some comparatively minor provincial security issues.

Now, in any such situation, such failures ought to lead to major changes of
strategy, and maybe even of personnel responsible for executing the
strategy.  But, Bush persists in misleading America, and the Congress does
nothing to stop his continuing and costly failing misleadership.  Petraeus
continues to pretend that the strong continuation of the US military mission
is somehow related to the resolution of the Iraqi political issues -- even
though the surge is strong evidence to the contrary of that very
proposition.

If this were a "no-child-left-behind' matter, it would be obvious that the
public has been disserved by the performance of the leaders of its public
institution (the Bush WH leadership on Iraq, and Petraeus as its present
principal).  But, Bush will not apply his own rules to his pet projects.

Indeed, having failed the final exam of the Iraq standards, Bush and
Petraeus instead (a) criticize the test, that they themselves proposed, as
irrelevant and, in the alternative, (b) demand that they be given another
test, a make-up one, months from now.

Now, sadly, with the circumstances of the Cornyn resolution, we see the
pattern of betrayal goes even farther: Bush and Petraeus now suggest that
they the sole competent parties to grade the tests and to interpret the
results of their Iraq war "studies".

It is a travesty, as I say.

Shame on the American Senate for such cowardice and opportunism!!!  Shame on
her many Senators who contributed to this debacle!!!
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