Some much needed sense from a highly experienced military officer.
I listened to the talking heads on Fox News Sunday and was struck by Senator Bond’s apparent support of the putative resistance of at least some flag officers to the authority of the president of the United States. Bond spoke strongly in favor of having Generals McChrystal and Petraeus explain to Congress what their opinion is (as opposed to the opinion of the president/commander in chief) as to what the policy and strategy of the United States should be.
This is actually an incitement to mutiny.
[snip]
The armed forces are commanded by the president. Mullen, McChrystal and Petraeus and everyone else in the armed forces are the military subordinates of the president and not of anyone in the Congress nor of the Congress collectively. Thaddeus Stevens and his friends in the Civil War Congress created a "Joint Committee on the War" in order to use the testimony of various Union Army generals against Lincoln. What a disaster that was! What an inducement to the poltical ambitions of the brass!
Source: Sic Semper Tyrannis — They had a lean and hungry look.
Emphasis added.
Probably most of the denizens of the lake would dislike Col. Lang’s old fashioned conservative politics. So what? You take your expertise where you can get it. The man is a professional to his fingertips and loves his country. "Sic Semper" is on a roll with all of the last few posts being well worth your while to take the time reading and thinking about. I particularly recommend The Angst of the Legions….
- Hear no evil, See no evil and …
- The Angst of the Legions…
- Olmert the peacemaker?
- Clever, these Iranians —
- FB Ali on the Good Soldier Stanley.
markfromireland
15 Comments
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About The Seminal
Advanced search
Thanks for the reminder of how very valuable Pat Lang is – a must read for us all. And this issue is one we must address.
“Mr.”Bond,You forget your place sir.The title in front of you name is
NOT “Commander In Chief”.It is ONLY Senator!
The death of outrage strikes again. It’s not just Bond, it’s far too many members of Congress who make outrageous statements that go completely unanswered, not to mention the Becks and his ilk.
I don’t care if someone is conservative if they are honest as well.
This is just the type of stuff, suggesting disloyalty and even even offenses of insubordination, without evidence, that one might expect from Stalinist Russia or Ba’athish Iraq.
Let’s stamp out these thought crimes!
I’ve a lot of time for him. He knows his stuff from experience and has learnt from it – which is more than can be said for many if not most of the commentariat — and their followers. He also has a sharp sense of constitutional propriety, that’s a very good thing in a soldier and would be even better in oh for example some of the current denizens of the US Senate…..
Pat Lang is a daily read for me. He knows his onions and he doesn’t mince words.
There are movements of personnel which suggest the military is proceeding with plans to scale up troops — even though we’ve seen no announcement from Obama or any of his team.
We may be beyond incitement.
See my comment (#1) to Prairie’s rec. of Frank Rich today.
Do not trivialize the risk of mutiny.
That kind of political insubordination wouldn’t be unprecedented. In August 1967 at the Stennis hearings Admiral Ulysses Grant Sharp gave harsh testimony against LBJ’s management of the war. He condemned the White House management of target selection and the concept of bombing pauses and restarts.
Regardless of the merit of these criticisms, it was certainly insubordinate for this guy to publicly skewer his C in C, thereby providing Stennis with the pretext to basically condemn the very concept of civilian oversight of the military.
These members think they’re experts on everything, not just the military. THey know everything there is to know about global warming, about marriage and sex and society, about what we want in health insurance, and none of them actually listen to anything they’re told, by the real experts or by their constituents. They lie the way they breathe, too: constantly, automatically, and even when not doing so would benefit them.
Hasn’t anyone noticed that all of Congress thinks they are the commander in chief. Liberweasel was on telling people what we should do about Afghanistan. They are the ones who allowed us into Iraq, because they voted to let Bush do it. They brag up these Generals that messed up both wars, and now even the President is supposed to listen to them. If we had good Generals, they would have won these wars and would be at home celerbrating. Why we even listen to any of these idiots befuddles the mind. When the people decide that these people don’t have the slightest, is when we will get our Country back. Until the we will get what they give us, and like it.
On Mutiny, don’t ever try it. The Constitution gives the Government the right to put down revolution. That means they would use the Military on us in a flash. Don’t believe that the law that says the military can’t be used against us. The idiots in Washington, beleive they are above the people, and would defend themselves even from the people. They are no different than Iran or China, try to revolt and they would mow us like a well manicured lawn. They have to defend the Government, after all they are what runs the Country. We long ago lost a Government of, by and for the people, and made it a Government run by politians, who are no longer our representatives, but our deciders.
Just saw this post, mfi, will have to come back and peruse the links. Always nice to converse with a realist who pays attention to the ground.
Nice diary. There is a need for more public questions asking what is going on.
This reminds me of the way President Clinton was treated. Not that this in particular happened to him. But he was put through a witchhunt & was attacked at every turn. A lot of this is not driven by racism or certainly any desire to do right by the troops.
Practically speaking, the GOP leadership knows it’s political suicide to commit another 40K soldiers when your strategy isn’t even set & no invader has been successful in the country you’ve invaded since Alexander the Great.
This is a desire by the GOP for greed & power, just as they acted in the ’90s. They are seeking re-election & gaining majorities back so they can rack up the dollars for them & their friends. The Dem leadership are not choirboys. They have their own special interest friends, too. But the GOP plays in a different league. Nothing is beneath them, including publicly scolding & seeking to impeach a president for having an affair, all the while they are themselves cheating their wives.
A little thing like the constitution doesn’t trouble them.