Generals finally speak out

This week eleven House Republicans met with President Bush to say that the politics of the Iraq War are no longer tenable. These were not the anti-war fringe Republicans but, until now, loyal to the White House position. They said the president is no longer credible about his predictions about the war and that it’s time to face facts. As a result, Bush uncharacteristically agreed to benchmarks, requiring positive actions by the Iraqi government, as part of the funding bill now in Congress. This is something Democrats have been seeking for years.

In another under-reported story, more than half of the Iraqi Parliament members signed a petition to set a time-table for the US to get out of Iraq. They see the continued US occupation of their country as harmful, and want to see it end.

More importantly, several generals who actually served in the Iraq War have publicly declared that the president lied when he said, “I listen to the commanders on the ground.” Two-star Army General John Batiste (who remains a “diehard Republican”) now joins dozens of other recently retired high-level military officers who admit the Iraq War is a mistake and we need to get out. “Mr. President, you did not listen,” Batiste says. “You continue to pursue a failed strategy that is breaking our Army and Marine Corps.”

The big question for me is why didn’t these generals speak up while they were on active duty? Like George Tenet, who was head of the CIA during the selling of the Iraq War, they knew that the reasons for the war were a lie and didn’t speak up until it was too late.

We need honest politicians, and we also need honest top military leaders who have the courage to say it like it is, when it counts, and not just go along with the political winds.

Jon Monday