Meatstick Opinion: Don't Always Trust Generals

If you have been paying attention to the Iraq war you have undoubtedly heard George Bush claim that we need to trust and listen to our generals in regards to the outcome of the surge. Here is a recent quote by Bush:

''My job . . . is to say to David Petraeus, 'I trust your judgment, I trusted you going in and I trust you now.' '' He calls Petraeus ''the most credible person in the fight at this moment.''

And here is another quote by Tony Snow:

"Now, if you take recommendations about how to proceed, along with the President's determination to follow the advice of generals, then you have the prospect that there may be some shift in posture or strategy based on the realities on the ground."

The administration likes to tell us we must listen to generals because they realize that the majority of Americans are clueless on military operations. Using generals as a facade, the administration can dodge questions and then try to make us believe that we are all stupid when it comes to the situation in Iraq...and the generals will set us straight.

Well, beware from now on when you hear anything about generals "on the ground." It turns out that there is a high ranking, 3 star general that is about to be stripped of his stars because of the way he misled the investigation into the death of NFL star, Army Ranger Pat Tillman. According to ABC News 7 officers in all will be punished:

The most severe punishment is planned for Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger. Kensinger is accused of misleading investigators about when he knew the truth about circumstances surrounding Tillman's death.

My point here is that generals are people too and they can and do make mistakes. So, the next time you hear President Bush throw out something like, "we need to listen to our generals on the ground," please take that statement at face value.

It's just unfortunate that President Bush didn't trust generals back in 2003 before the war when 4 star General Shinseki was asked how many soldiers would be needed for the impending invasion of Iraq:

I would say that what's been mobilized to this point -- something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We're talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes a significant ground- force presence to maintain a safe and secure environment, to ensure that people are fed, that water is distributed, all the normal responsibilities that go along with administering a situation like this.

Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Wolfowitz didn't listen to their general. Shinseki retired shortly after and NO senior officials from the administration were present at his retirement ceremony.