Sunday, November 20, 2005
Soldiers Setting Policy
Grant, Hayes, Eisenhower, Murtha?
Many, if fact, the great majority, of soldiers have provided a great service to their country. While being a great soldier requires great training and the ability to think strategically and tactically, many soldiers fail in the policy arena of politics. They do so because government, diplomacy and policy were never part of their military background. If they disagree with their commander, they can speak their piece. If their input is rejected, that is the end of it, no second guessing, no hesitation, just action and the after-action report. If a soldier rewrites the reasoning and the history of that military action in the after-action report, he is branded for what he is, unworthy of further consideration and shunned for breaking the military code of ethics.
Besides being wrong on a number of points listed above, Murtha is rewriting the reasoning and the history of his vote in his "after-action" report which he aired before Congress, the American public, the world, and the soldiers he calls comrades. A poor way to instill confidence in and to support his comrades in harm's way. ¶ 3:13 PM
Grant, Hayes, Eisenhower, Murtha?
Many, if fact, the great majority, of soldiers have provided a great service to their country. While being a great soldier requires great training and the ability to think strategically and tactically, many soldiers fail in the policy arena of politics. They do so because government, diplomacy and policy were never part of their military background. If they disagree with their commander, they can speak their piece. If their input is rejected, that is the end of it, no second guessing, no hesitation, just action and the after-action report. If a soldier rewrites the reasoning and the history of that military action in the after-action report, he is branded for what he is, unworthy of further consideration and shunned for breaking the military code of ethics.
Before agreeing to the resolution, Murtha said he aired his concerns in a 45-minute meeting with Vice President Cheney, along with a short conversation with Bush during the signing of federal legislation for the Flight 93 memorial.
"I was more than a little apprehensive," Murtha said.
"I was concerned about the direction they were going. I was criticizing them about the way they were going to war without consulting Congress, without consulting the United Nations."
Murtha said he agreed to the resolution only after certain concessions were made.
"The military didn’t feel confident, Secretary Powell felt the same way I did, and our allies were saying you have to do this through the U.N.," Murtha said.
Murtha said the weapons inspections have to take place by
March, before the sweltering desert summer would make it unbearable for ground troops to wear protective gas masks.
After making a trip to Iraq in August, Murtha said he’s convinced Saddam has biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. But Murtha said the Iraqi ruler has yet to develop a way to deliver the weapons for possible terrorist attacks
against the United States and abroad.
If Saddam doesn’t give in as Murtha suspects he will, Murtha said an attack "will not be a long war" but will require more than 200,000 ground troops and solid support from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait and other allies. (emphasis mine)
Besides being wrong on a number of points listed above, Murtha is rewriting the reasoning and the history of his vote in his "after-action" report which he aired before Congress, the American public, the world, and the soldiers he calls comrades. A poor way to instill confidence in and to support his comrades in harm's way. ¶ 3:13 PM
