Color me…..skeptical…..

But that is what they have done, by and large. One guy turned down a 3rd star and resigned.
And yet you still call them cowardly. I don’t get it.

Maybe they don’t want anymore of their men getting killed. Or do you have a problem with that too?

But, that doesn’t mean that that strategy was the best thing to do. It doesn’t mean that they gain any additional credibility because they are generals, which is not to say that they are lying, but, rather, that there are probably X amount of generals who disagree with them.

It would be more instructive to know how many Field Officers feel one way or the other. That we’ll never know.

It just doesn’t make sense……If they quit because of their beliefs, why not make that public right away, try to be an agent of change? If they gave it their best while in uniform….why wait for 2-3 years before complaining again? I mean, we have been losing less troops recently, how are they helping by coming out now?

Again, you give absolutely no reason or motivation for these people to do this. You are making arguments that have no rationale or logic to them.

Frank: I know, but, I like saying “intellectually inferior peoples” and said “but seriously” after, so you knew I was playin’.

You are correct though, Frank, we do not know what current generals think to make a judgment one way or the other, but the attacks of the generals that speak out is simply uncalled for, that is why Oliver’s beef with Instapundit is understood by me. Not to mention that Reynolds’ other writings over the past few years have left me with a sense of “why did I actually click on the link to that and read that drivel, I could have watched paint dry and been more intellectually challenged”.

Generals gain credibility by being generals. It’s why CEOs are quoted in business magazines. You’d think general’s opinions about war might mean something. You’d think they would have more credibility than instapundit…

But seriously, though, is that the only thing you can think of even after numerous possibilities have been mentioned in this thread alone? You don’t think it is possible that they voiced their opinion, were ignored, then continued a few years until they couldn’t take it anymore and then decided to go public? No possibility in your mind at all? You don’t think they might have thought “You know, I’ll give it a try…if it doesn’t work I’m quitting” and then did exactly that? What the hell?

Do you have any respect for these men? Do you think they have no respect for the troops in the field? Do you think they are after Bush too? I wonder who these men voted for. Or, wait, let’s take the conspiracy further. Maybe they all got together and decided they were going to throw the war. Yeah, just lead poorly and allow the insurgents to kill 2300 troops, just so Bush would look bad and his approval rating would be in the 30s. Then, in an effort to sell books and make money, blame it all on Rummy. It’s like the Black Sox, except with American Generals.

Why speak out now, rather than when they were in a position to truly affect a change?

The only answer I can come up with is lack of courage of their convictions. Whether they lacked that courage out of fear of retribution, courts martial or whatever…men of true principal have a responsibility to speak up against injustice.

Alternatively, these are strictly opinions that they can throw out now without any risk to themselves, and possibly some benefit…so talk is now cheap…

Either way, they don’t look like good leaders….

By the way, thanks for schooling these guys in the military and the UCMJ while I was away….

P

So while I disagree with Dr. P that these men are cowards for not speaking out  because I believe they did  I agree with him that they owe it to the men in the field  the men they once commanded  to be more judicious in their comments.

That’s what I said.
When have I engaged in the “practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness:?

You guys really are making me sick. You always do. But especially on this issue, you’re really trying to pump my guts out.

You keep saying that these guys “owe it to the troops”. Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, they’re speaking out on behalf of the troops? Don’t you think that perhaps, in the eyes of these generals, who have seen the intelligence, and war, first hand, that what they’re doing is for the good of the service and the country?

How in gods name is it that you claim to know more than these gentlemen? Because Instapundit, fox news, and drudge said so?

I remember somebody raising some bullshit about a guy who had retired a few years ago and was just now raising his voice. Given the way you’ve marginalized every lone voice out there, it should come as no surprise that people, especially people used to thinking tactically, may have thought that the only way to speak without being marginalized and forgotten was to speak with one voice.

If these men were still in uniform and spouting the party line, you’d be cheering and holding them up for evidence. But hey, since they don’t think what you do, fuck ‘em, right. Thirty years down the toilet, their service means shit, right?

Honestly, guys. Just once, I’d like to see you have an opinion on something that stays consistant. You really make me sick.

And I didn’t say you said I wasn’t entitled to an opinion…
I was asking if you believed there was such a thing as a veterans’ opinion…
I’ve said it before,and I’ll say it again: People are less likely to lie when they are anonymous…
Exaggerate, maybe, but outright lie? Why?

Do I really have to explain the blinders thing? Aren’t the conservatives on this board consistently raising the point that the military tends to be heavy with rabidly loyal republicans? Is it surprising to think that ex-military personnel often cling to the notion that you support your leaders and commanders no matter what, but especially in a time of war? Isn’t that what’s pounded into your head from day one? Semper fi(delis)? And yes, I know that’s the Marines.

Your rant about veterans and who gets to have an opinion was priceless, though. Where did I say you weren’t entitled to your opinion, or anyone else for that matter? Just as you are free to have an opinion, so to am I free to point out how unlikely it is that the chorus of conservative commenters on this board would be increasingly made up of ex-military personnel (though I commend you for at least standing up and countering Pedro concerning the generals’ integrity). Could you all be telling the truth? Sure. Could it all be bullsh*t? Yup.

Welcome to the internet.

Pedro, ever the thick skulled wonder, acknowledges that article 134 could, in fact, be used to charge a flag officer with violating the UCMJ by arguing not that it couldn’t, but that I need to produce an example case. I merely pointed out that the language exists in the code to charge someone in the military with a crime for doing virtually anything that could be construed as being “disloyal.” Guess what, I’m right! Thanks Google and Wikipedia!

And Republican unilateral diplomacy = invasion, while Reid is arguing for direct U.S. talks with Iran, not threatening another “but we’ve got Australia and Poland backing us!…for a while!” assault on a sovereign nation.

Ped, your debating skills are matchless.