Essentially Contested America

Consider the story of retired American generals acting conscientiously to change our policy concerning Mr. Bush’s War. “What might be called The Revolt of the Generals has rarely happened in the nation’s history. . . . In op-ed pieces, interviews and TV ads, more than 20 retired U.S. generals have broken ranks with the culture of salute and keep it in the family. Instead, they are criticizing the commander in chief and other top civilian leaders who led the nation into what the generals believe is a misbegotten and tragic war. . . . The active-duty generals followed procedure, sending reports up the chain of command. The retired generals beseeched old friends in powerful positions to use their influence to bring about a change. . . . When their warnings were ignored, some came to believe it was their patriotic duty to speak out, even if it meant terminating their careers.” The stories of these generals are profiles in courage. The shame is that their “commander-in-chief’s” moral character is impoverished and his commonsense unequal to theirs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 3:40 am and is filed under Military, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.