There is no such thing as “free thinkers” in the military. You have to follow orders, otherwise “military cohesion” would be jeopardized.

General Patraeus is not a dunce, but he is political and as such controlled by the politicians who put him in the position he is in.

I apologize for not having any “cold, hard” facts, other than my first hand observations.

[This is not about “free thinkers”; this is about separation of powers.–IM]

BTW: Ilana, Ron Paul is not only still in the race, it is also not over/decided yet re. delegates. The primaries/caucuses are like glorified strawpolls, the delegates are decided later more RP supporters/delegates arrive, RP gets legally the most delegates, as happened already. In many states, delegates are also unbound, like OH. MSM does not give the correct picture. check out
http://www.thegreeenpapers.com

1. Neocon: Saddam worse than Hitler. Iraq = Auschwitz. US welcomed as liberators.

2. Leftist Anti-War: Saddam – legitimate ruler. US out to profit with cheap oil.

3. Rightist Anti-War: US is a puppet of Israel’s scheme to dominate Middle East.

4. Objectivists: Arabs are sub-human savages. Kill them and take their oil.

So I am skeptical of purely MORAL arguments. Trillions are being wasted, hundreds of thousands of lives ruined by a STUPID war – immoral, amoral, moral – take your pick.

Of course, if Congressmen REALLY wanted to know about the war, they should talk off the record to some Captains with a few beers at the O club and separately with some Sergeants with a few beers at the NCO club. Petraeus and Crocker are just performing Kabuki theater.

[Your premise that morality is relative is wrong, and certainly not one indulged on this site. Natural laws of justice are immutable and comport with reality and reason absolutely. My analysis of Just War has adhered to natural law and reason. See “Unnatural Lawlessness,” ‘Just War’ for Dummies,”“Rationalize With Lies”,” etc., all here.–IM]

Ilana, you can mock the Semi-Good General’s evasion speak all you want but Jorge (AKA, Destroyer of Economies) it titillated by that kind of talk. Our illustrious president thinks the good General is smart.

Petraeus was never known for falling on his sword. He’s the main reason we had the so called “operational Pause” in the middle of the invasion. He was worried that the big bad Republican Guard would sneak up on him and do bad things. This caution (about what was by then nothing more then a mythical force) allowed Saddam to escape along with many others. How can someone whose main claim to fame was rebuilding and training the Iraqi police (which didn’t exactly work too well) get this job? All in all he’s as political as they come in the sense that his promotion, and whatever it takes, is all that matters. He’s shooting for Chief of Staff of the Army now, and that’s another political appointment. Not many become CSA without putting their lips in the appropriate spots. The good General is dancing, dancing, forever dancing. Without seeing the hearings I’ll bet a lot that no one can tell me much about what he’s done, doing, and will do? Trying to understand Petraeus has always been a bit tricky. He loves to dazzle you with BS, particularly when he’s confused.

[Guys, please stick to the word limit. Thanks.–IM]

If Petraeus is spreading blather out of ignorance, then he should be scolded for incompetence – although he would not be the only dunce serving Bush. If Petraeus knows better and is spreading this insipid blather, then he is contemptable. The military went through this retrospective in the post-Vietnam War analysis about generals providing political cover for idiotic decisions by the JFK/LBJ/Nixonians and
the conclusion was that it was wrong.
Now history is repeating itself, sadly.

He is a 4 star general with a generous pension and can fall on his sword if need be. Prostitution has its limits.

[This is plain wrong. Why say things without providing documented proof, such as a delineation of the duties of top brass? It is a gross overreach for the military to be justifying anything but the mission.—IM]