Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop [list]The risks of playing politics with the military
By Bruce Ackerman
President George W. Bush's campaign to stay the course in Iraq is taking a new and constitutionally dangerous turn. When Senator John Warner recently called for a troop withdrawal by Christmas, the White House did not mount its usual counterattack. It allowed a surprising champion to take its place. Major General Rick Lynch, a field commander in Iraq, summoned reporters to condemn Mr Warner's proposal as "a giant step backwards".
It was Maj Gen Lynch who was making the giant step into forbidden territory. He had no business engaging in a public debate with a US senator. His remarks represent an assault on the principle of civilian control - the most blatant so far during the Iraq war.
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I had missed this, but Ackerman is aboslutely right.
It is completely inappropriate (and a considerable departure from the standard) to trot out an active-duty military officer to give a press conference on why a Senator, or why any particular proposed policy, is full of shit.
Certain officers testify before Congress as a routine part of their jobs (Joint Chiefs and/or CINCs) and other do in response to particular issues or inquiries. When called, they can and do give their opinion (and/or the Administration's position) in response to Congressional questioning. They are also supposed to give their opinions up the chain to the Administration.
But the military has no business being placed out in the political fray that way. It not only undermines the principal of civilian control, but the idea that the military is professionally non-partisan. It is, after all, their job to do their best to implement whatever batshit policies the civilians pass.
S_A_M
