The Political Chase

The Revolt of the Generals

The profound criticism Lt. Gen. Sanchez levied on the Bush administration yesterday will come as no surprise to critics of the administration’s war policies, and it will surely generate an overwhelming denouncement of Sanchez from the Far Right. In all likelihood, one can safely presume the neocon’s response to be conveniently, and intentionally, myopic. It will be all Sanchez, all the time.

But Sanchez does not stand alone by any means. The fact of the matter is, the level of criticism thrust upon the administration by military leaders is indeed quite rare from a historical perspective, and consequently hard to rebuke.

Enter The Revolt of the Generals.

The generals acted independently, coming in their own ways to the agonizing decision to defy military tradition and publicly criticize the Bush administration over its conduct of the war in Iraq.

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.

It was a decision none of the men approached cavalierly. Most were political conservatives who had voted for George W. Bush and initially favored his appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary.

But they felt betrayed by Bush and his advisers.

“The ethos is: Give your advice to those in a position to make changes, not the media,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, now retired. “But this administration is immune to good advice.”

Presently, I have not taken a comprehensive tour of the Right-Wing self-proclaimed-punditry to evaluate the spewed venom, but I have little doubt as to what the predominant thesis is or will be. The neocons will attempt to eviscerate Sanchez with an Abu Ghraib scalpel, but that argument is largely without merit, with the possible exception that Sanchez should have blown the whistle on his civilian leaders long ago, which is a separate and complicated topic altogether.

It is a well established fact that the Abu Ghraib atrocities originated directly from the White House, and more specifically from the Office of the Vice President.

So, let the Right-Wing comedians raise their banter and declarations of “phoney soldiers.” It will be no different today than it has been for years - the psychobabble of rhetorical vigilantes.

Late Update: Get a copy of the transcript of Lt. Gen. Sanchez’s remarks here.