General-ly speaking

Recent criticism of Secretary Rumsfeld by six retired general officers generated a little irony. The anti-war crowd—heirs of the 1970’s “War is too important to be left to the generals” mentality—seems largely to applaud the public statements. The hawks, on the other hand, once wished the generals could wrest control of the Vietnam War from Secretary McNamara. Now they just want the generals to shut up.

Bob Dylan is still relevant: the times, they are a-changing.

The question of Rummy’s Retention is important. Those most stung by the criticism, however, are deflecting the issue by claiming it was inappropriate for these retirees to speak out. This misses the point. Despite the hysterics, this isn’t “Seven Days in May.”

The serving military is expected to be nonpartisan, loyal only to the Constitution and the government duly elected by the people. You don’t see officers in uniform leading rallies for one political party or another. That’s as it should be, and in fact has not changed. We are talking about RETIRED officers currently speaking out…one of whom felt so strongly about his opinions that he turned down a coveted third star and retired rather than continue serving.

Nowhere is it written that military service forever strips one of the right of civic participation. Ex-military members have long been part of the political scene…do the names Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower ring a bell? Wesley Clark ran for office in 2004, and plenty of the gray-haired “There I was…” crowd earns a second living as punditry for CNN/FOX/MSNBC and others in the media.

Where the retirees erred was by hinting they speak for their active-duty brethren. The critics, between them, have enough experience and credibility to speak to the issue on their own without involving serving officers in the foodfight. Not to mention the inappropriateness of having the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs defend Rumsfeld (what does everyone THINK he’s going to say?).

Those serving have enough on their plates these days without having to answer political talking points. But it’s safe to say they wish the rest of the country would just come to a consensus about where all of their efforts are heading…