The second in the most recent VoteVets ad series has been released today. But before you watch General Eaton, first read this from General John Batiste who, in the first ad, looked into the camera and said, “Mr. President, you did not listen.”
Off camera, he elaborated at a press conference, as reported in the New York Times:
...General Batiste said he chose to go public with his critique of the war effort only after 30 years of honoring the Army’s rules of silence. He said it was that time commanding 22,000 troops in combat, in 2004 and 2005, that convinced him that American fighting in Iraq was short of vision as well as troops.“There was never enough. There was never a reserve,” he said.
And from an AP report of the same conference::
"Our strategy in Iraq today is more of the same, a slow grind to nowhere which totally ignores the reality of Iraq and the lessons of history," Batiste said. "Our president ignores sound military advice and surrounds himself with like-minded and compliant subordinates."
And what message has General Batiste, as well as dozens of other senior military officers, tried to deliver to the President and his administration?
As described by General Batiste, the message is not antiwar; it argues that continuing the war in Iraq as a civil, sectarian conflict that cannot be won by outside forces is crippling the Army and the Marine Corps. It does not deny the danger of violent Islamic extremism, he says, but contends that the war in Iraq prevents the armed services from preparing to battle other global security threats.And it says that if terrorism, and especially terrorists armed with unconventional weapons, truly threaten America’s very survival, then the rest of the country — not just the military — should be called to sacrifice.
The president has told us over and over that he is listening to his generals. But the only generals with access to the Oval Office have been those hand-picked precisely because they are saying the things the president wants to hear.
General Eric Shinseki told Congress that post-war Iraq would take more manpower than the Pentagon civilians wanted to admit. He was put out to pasture. Generals Abizaid and Casey recommended against the latest surge. They're gone too.
It's one of those "a tree falls in the forest" things, but in reverse. Because if you shield yourself from the trees that are falling, it doesn't matter whether you are listening or not; there will be no sound to hear.
Now please watch General Paul Eaton, who was a commanding general in Iraq, responsible for training the Iraqi Army. And while you're at it, throw some money VoteVets' way so that he, General Batiste, and next week General Clark, can reach a national audience.
Don’t let the trees keep falling without a sound because there's no one around to hear them.
