I am really coming to rely on Frank Rich for his intellectual and honest assessments of our politics. This is another of those really seminal critiques.

I tremble to add a few personal interpretations.

The military whose existence is predicated on the acceptability of violence is by nature conservative. Of course the rigid application of political neutrality is what has more than anything else set us apart from the banana republics. However under the Bush/Petraeus administration many have become convinced the military way of doing things is superior to traditional democratic civilian institutions way beyond the traditional purview of the military..

As an aside: We are seeing increasing insertion of military approaches into civilian security, law enforcement, school curricula; even Christian ministries!

This one person’s view is the Afghanistan question is an assertion of the political power of the military and the challenge to Obama could be indeed almost apocalyptic. We have a lot of folks out there believing the Obama government should be overthrown, preferably by force of arms. Could the military be persuaded to provide that? I hasten to say, I don’t think so now. I believe there are still many more within the military who will hold to the death traditional views of the their role. But it is a caution.

I think Rich is right on in shining the light on these decisions. It is time for Obama to assert his knowledge and stop appointing generals on the basis of credentials acquired under Bush.

There are just too many nuts in and out of government who would in a New York minute incite a military revolt.

Doubtless we will see most of them on Sunday morning gasbag shows. And Monday evening on Fox.

Interesting to see Meet the Press run a pundit-free show today.

On CNN, Gates just said that Afghanistan is not a quaggmire.
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2 : a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : predicament
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quagmire

“Meanwhile, in the Sunday morning newspapers, Bob Woodward interviewed Obama’s national security advisor, Gen. Jim Jones, who said the White House team will conduct a series of five meetings in the coming weeks, with at least two this week. The issue on the table remains Afghanistan, McChrystal’s assessment and request for troops – which the Pentagon promised would sit on Gates’ desk until….well, until. “

http://blogs.stripes.com/blogs…..tz-his-own

Gates also said he likes working for this president. He’s worked for eight. Declined to opine on the others.

No, Afghanistan is not a quagmire.

To say it is is to be too polite.

It’s a fucking quagmire.

If I hear on more time We need to listen to the Generals on the Ground I’m going to puke. These Generals messed up both of these wars, or they would have won them and be home. We been listening to Generals and lost Korea, Vienam, Quit to soon in Iraq 1, and have been made fools of by not being able to handle two little peanuts of Countries. The most powerful military in the world, and we showed the world we didn’t know what we were doing. Shock and awe, only awed the American people on television. It pissed the people in Iraq and Afghanistan off, and made them detirmined to beat us back. We have lost many more americans, following these generals, than we did on 911. Now we are supposed to listen to this ass, tell us to send more, so they can be cannon, bullet, and bomb fodder so the Generals can hope they can win something.

The original ‘left behind’..’g’.