Here's an overview of the nation's problem:
Unengaged, Uninformed, Uncaring, Unqualified
That captures it all about as well as anything. He drops this indictment along the way:
Stanley McChrystal is a liberal who voted for Obama and banned Fox News from his HQ TV. Which may at least partly explain how he became the first U.S. general to be lost in combat while giving an interview to Rolling Stone: They'll be studying that one in war colleges around the world for decades.
It is almost beyond belief that an American fighting man would admit to being an Obama supporter. The cognitive dissonance for that shakes the foundations. It may also be the explanation of how to rise to general in today's military. Expressing political support for an avowed socialist and American degrader while denying your supporters free access to information and simultaneously subjecting them to Kool-Aid dousings of the mainstream media is the stuff of top drawer sycophants.
But, wait, there is more concise criticism before getting to the meat of the Mark's man:
The management of BP were unable to vote for Obama, being, as we now know, the most sinister duplicitous bunch of shifty Brits to pitch up offshore since the War of 1812. But, in their "Beyond Petroleum" marketing and beyond, they signed on to every modish nostrum of the eco-Left. Their recently retired chairman, Lord Browne, was one of the most prominent promoters of cap-and-trade. BP was the Democrats' favorite oil company. They were to Obama what Total Fina Elf was to Saddam.
Read the rest for the real essence of what the man has to say. It's priceless.
2 comments:
There are many patriotic general officers affiliated with each of our major parties. And with the complexity of human nature, one learns to accept that individuals who excel in their field − or who at least rise to the top − may be surprisingly deficient in other areas. Like many contributors to this blog, I have an extremely negative view of the Messiah. Hence it boggles my mind that an accomplished general officer like McChrystal would (a) support the Bamster instead of the somewhat imperfect McCain, and (b) be so incapable of recognizing the obvious ideological extremism, lack of competence and experience both before and after the 2008 election. So if you think McChrystal is a ‘10’ as a general (a view I do not share), then he must be close to a zero in political acumen. But Mark Steyn, while a brilliant commentator, never served in the military. He makes great points about McChrystal, but does little to dispel myths about general officers.
For one thing, we have numerous examples of generals (and admirals, plus countless colonels) who have been politically naïve in their views, and/or inept in practical politics. Charles Lindbergh, a reserve colonel, was part of the isolationist America First crowd who for years opposed fighting the Nazis, expressed adulation for circa 1937 Germany and even received a medal from that regime. General Curtis LeMay, the controversial father of SAC and later USAF chief of staff, threw his support to Governor George Wallace (a one-time segregationist) and served as the American Independence Party running mate on the 1968 presidential ticket. I have a lot of respect for the late general, but he gets a zero in political acumen and mixed grades in his command decisions. For example, it can be argued that LeMay failed to use the B-29 in its most effective role: i.e., dropping mines around Honshu during WWII. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, LeMay completely failed to recognize the enormous advantages of a naval blockade, favoring aerial bombardment of Cuba. Is McChrytal a modern, mini-version of Curtis LeMay?
And can we overlook former USAF chief of staff Gen. Merrill McPeak? That former Thunderbird may have been a great stick, but he supported the Messiah, even co-chairing the latter’s campaign committee. And need I bring up the infamous uniform change?
I share Steyn’s view of McChrystal and BP, except that I recognize that above grade O-6 promotions are often just political. And with that, have a nice weekend.
I've enjoyed Mark Steyn for years. He's fantastic.
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