On duty in uniform

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Hmmm...

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/13/generals-revolt/

Tucker: Active-Duty Generals Will ‘Revolt’ Against Bush If He Maintains Escalation Into 2008

Appearing on NBC’s Chris Matthews Show this morning, Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Cynthia Tucker revealed that sources within the military are warning of “a revolt from active-duty generals if September rolls around and the president is sticking with the surge into ‘08.” Watch it:

Noting that retired generals such as Gen. John Batiste have already begun voicing their discontent with the president’s strategy in Iraq, Tucker added that the generals “don’t want to fall by the wayside like the generals in Vietnam did, kept pushing a war that they knew was lost.”

The Taliban are thriving on this: every Afghan civilian killed by the British artillery round or helicopter gunship has a dozen brothers, cousins, and friends seeking British blood for vengeance. Today, our troops are risking their lives in a pointless conflict, a nightmare scenario of counter-insurgency gone wrong.

There is the mismatch between Blair's huge military ambition overseas and the scarce resources the forces get to fulfil it. The Army has lost four infantry battalions. Soldiers serving a fourth tour struggle to maintain relationships at home. Half the Navy's fleet is threatened with mothballing.

When you join the Army, you swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen and, by extension, the Prime Minister. We commit ourselves, with unquestioning loyalty, to the State. This is founded on trust in our political masters, and the belief that they are honourable people who will not lie to us, will resource us correctly and deploy us with sound judgement, after thorough strategic planning. This bond is unique, set in stone regardless of party politics. Today, this bond is broken. Catastrophes in Iraq and Afghanistan and years of resource-starvation have taken their toll; this is Blair's legacy.

Late last year, the head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannat, publicly called for our withdrawal from Iraq. Other senior officers voiced concern. Such public statements, unthinkable before Blair, are a glimpse of the military's anger and frustration.

Of those officers I sat with in the mess four years ago, many, like me, have left the Army. Those who remain have no trust in the Government. One told me: "We won't be fooled again."

Leo Docherty is author of 'Desert of Death: A Soldier's Journey from Iraq to Afghanistan', published by Faber and Faber

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17668.htm

Well, well, well. It looks as if the there are real problems for the UK's military, and maybe our own, in the near future. Lies have a way of doing that you know. They are not alone, my distrust of government is known to many here.

[autigeremt 7,284]

I'm glad I am not the only one in here who believes everything I read second hand.....

Oh, that's right! I don't believe everything I read second hand. I only see things for what they really are. It's in my nature to only believe what I actually have first hand knowledge of, and the rest is speculation.

One day people will see the more important issues instead of what they feel to be self serving, and maybe then we will be the nation we were back in the 80's. I am afraid that the days of God, Country, and family have long passed. They have been replaced by Me, myself, and I!

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Otherwise known as the "Me" or "Entitlement" generation.