George W. Bush’s veto has elicited some powerful statements from six US military leaders. You know, the ones that actually SERVED in the military. The ones that have a clue what is going on in Iraq. Service members who are the exact opposite of our “Commander-In-Chief”.
From the blog of our Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi:
Military Leaders Against the President’s Veto
May 2nd, 2007 by Karina
“With this veto, the president has doomed us to repeating a terrible history. President Bush’s current position is hauntingly reminiscent of March 1968 in Vietnam. At that time, both the Secretary of Defense and the President had recognized that the war could not be won militarily – just as our military commanders in Iraq have acknowledged. But not wanting to be tainted with losing a war, President Johnson authorized a surge of 25,000 troops. At that point, there had been 24,000 U.S. troops killed in action. Five years later, when the withdrawal of U.S. troops was complete, we had suffered 34,000 additional combat deaths.”
– Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, USA, Ret.“By vetoing this bill and failing to initiate an immediate and phased withdrawal, the President has effectively gone AWOL, deserting his duty post, leaving American forces with an impossible mission, suffering wholly unnecessary casualties.”
– Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, USA, Ret.“The rhetoric of Congress not supporting our troops is pure ‘hogwash’. The real non support of our troops is the Presidential Veto. Vetoing this Bill sends a message to our troops, that the President will fund them to fight but is not concerned about returning them to their families.”
– Maj. Gen. Mel Montano, USANG, Ret.“The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war. His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat world wide Islamic extremism is tragic. We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration.”
– Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA, Ret.“This administration and the previously Republican controlled legislature have been the most caustic agents against America’s Armed Forces in memory. Less than a year ago, the Republicans imposed great hardship on the Army and Marine Corps by their failure to pass a necessary funding language. This time, the President of the United States is holding our Soldiers hostage to his ego. More than ever apparent, only the Army and the Marine Corps are at war – alone, without their President’s support.”
– Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, USA, Ret.
“Almost 5 years ago, Congress trusted the President enough to give him the power to transform Iraq. Bush violated that trust and deceived us with a misuse of force. Today, the President violated the trust of the American people, our troops, and their families by vetoing this bill and not choosing to do what is right. He has let us down.”
– Brigadier General John Johns, USA, Ret.
Check these out:
- CODEPINK
- Eyes Wide Open
- Iraq Veterans Against the War
- Joan Baez Unwelcome at Concert for Troops-WashingtonPost.com
- MichaelMoore.com
- MoveOn.org
VERY powerful video put to John Fogerty’s “Deja Vu”:
5 comments
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May 2, 2007 at 6:20 pm
johannesclimacus
Hmmm… so Pelosi could find any generals who aren’t RETIRED to talk about the war. That’s laughable. What do the military commanders ON THE GROUND say about the war?
May 2, 2007 at 7:43 pm
SoCalMuchacha
I’ll take Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton‘s word in a heartbeat–retired or not. Let’s see, Maj. Gen. John Batiste also served in Iraq. Lt. Gen. Robert Gard and Brigadier General John H. Johns made as much sense in November of 2005 as their comments do today. Same can be said of Lt. Gen. William E. Odom.
And here’s what these same men said prior to the veto.
So while I appreciate your opinion and comment, johannesclimacus, I am not one who believes that a military opinion on Iraq must come from someone CURRENTLY with boots on the ground in Iraq, in order for that opinion to be valid and worthy.
May 3, 2007 at 8:24 am
johannesclimacus
I read the generals’ arguments and they’re nothing new. “We’re in a civil war…we’re not going to lose face in front of other nations because we’re so awesome…we’re a breeding ground for terrorists…etc., etc.”
We’re not in a civil war. Most of the bombings come from Al Qaeda, the major attacks that started the cycles of blame were from Al Qaeda, and what we have are rogue groups of militia which are composed either Sunni or Shiite, which is like saying, the militias are composed of people. Right now, while there is unrest in Iraq, there is a power struggle because there is a power vacuum, and the sectarian militias and the terrorist groups want the power. Once democracy is in place (I like the way Ret. Gen. Odom literally says that the sooner there is an authoritarian dictator, the better; talk about soldiers dying in vain, Odom is rooting for a dictator), the fighting will stop. Shoot, even many of these militias have been asking to go after Al Qaeda.
The only real problem is that we did not come in strong enough with security, and in that respect, the Bush admin has been incompetent. If you would like a different perspectives from the humdrum arguments that everyone can repeat in their sleep like undergraduates studying for a final, go to airforcepundit.blogspot.com and link around to the other blogs of active servicemen, and people of rank who are actively involved. Don’t just listen to what generals are saying after three year’s of retirement and so forth (although I concede that it’s wrong to say that because they’re not there, what they say doesn’t count; although it just so happens that they see things a little too black-and-white right now, an indicator that they’re out of touch).
You are more well-informed than most, although I respectfully disagree with your opinions about the war. Thank goodness for that veto. Let’s get the job done, give stability, peace and political freedom to Iraq, and get our boys home.
May 3, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Joy
The You Tube Video … brought tears to my eyes…
May 3, 2007 at 5:00 pm
SoCalMuchacha
johannesclimacus, I guess we have a serious case of “agree to disagree” on the Iraq situation, eh? That being said, I will say we DO agree on getting our men and women back home. Don’t look now, but I think that might actually be some common ground! 😉
And Joy, I hear ya on getting emotional with that video. There were actually several incredibly poignant videos on YouTube set to that song. Of course each one got to me…sigh.