Military Leaders Finally Speak Truth To Power

By BlackJack

Yesterday, according to Associated Press reports, U.S. military leaders told President Bush that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have put a strain on troops to the point that it would affect their ability to respond to other needs. The Joint Chiefs of Staff informed the President that current operations have stretched thin the American military and has adversely affected the readiness of the service members and put long-term hardship on their families.

With those important problems on the table, the leadership agreed to Bush's plan to freeze troop rotation out of Iraq this summer. The chief's told Pres. Bush that they were concerned that current requirements within the war zones have compromised the military's ability to handle new crises at home and abroad.

Not since early in the Iraq war, when several of the top brass retired in frustration and disgust, have military commanders given Bush such an honest assessment of the war's effect on overall morale and readiness. At a time when the improved situation in Iraq seems to be reversing and the Taliban has reorganized in a violent manner in Afghanistan, the leaders told Bush and Vice President Cheney that the long-term health of the military was in jeopardy.

Sadly, this conversation comes 5 years too late for 4,003 men and women, who would have benefited from having some sort of meaningful conversation between the military and civilian leadership before the war. Donald Rumsfeld, who was the Secretary of Defense at the time, was known to have ignored the warnings of the few leaders who spoke up against the dangers of the Bush plan. Several generals famously retired, or were asked to retire, in the days leading up to the initiation of the attack on Iraq.

Perhaps due to an impending change in leadership in the White House, the chiefs have made their first real statements of concern to the President. Hopefully it's the start of a new trend in the Pentagon of top brass who have grown a backbone. Their troops are depending on them to act like leaders.