Posted by M. Wright | Filed in: Media, War
It’s comforting to know that, despite what we think of the war in Iraq, we can all come together in supporting our brave men and women in uniform. Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and all those in-between — we all stand behind our military, pray that they are successful in their mission, and want them to return home safe, as quickly as possible.
After MoveOn.org ran an advertisement in the New York Times (at a nice discount) accusing one of our top generals of “betray[ing]” our country, “cooking the books for the White House,” and claiming that he is “constantly at war with the facts,” it was encouraging to see the U.S. Senate “strongly condemn” the attack with a bi-partisan resolution.
The ad’s target — General David Petraeus — has dedicated his life to serving his country, and was unanimously confirmed to his current post, credited for having written the book on counterinsurgency. He graduated in the top 5% of his class at West Point, and he earned a MPA and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Our liberal friends at the Memphis Flyer also noted their disgust with the ad, calling the attack “utterly spurious,” “shameful,” “deceitful and disgraceful,” “loads of lies,” and an “outlaw smear campaign.” They even went so far as to call those behind the advertisement “assholes,” “liars,” and “malefactors of great wealth who would do something so dire against a man so pure and deserving.”
Oh, wait. Did I say the Flyer had written those things about MoveOn.org’s advertisement? My bad. That’s actually what they said about the Vietnam veterans who opposed John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004. Sorry for the confusion.
Here’s how the Flyer actually described General Petraeus and his testimony before Congress: “dog and pony show,” “whoopee cushion,” “Bush’s new poodle,” “rigged report,” and “total poppycock.” (more…)
September 24th, 2007 at 4:58 am
Oh no! The liberals are using WORDS! Quick, sound the alarm! Man the battle stations! We cannot stand for this! Isn’t that a war crime or something?
I speaks volumes about your confidence in Petraeus’ testimony that you would launch such a wordy defense of it without ever once addressing the substance of what he said.
It’s also disappointing to watch you try to paint a four-star general as some kind of a victim. Admiral Fallon called Petraeus an “ass-kissing little chickenshit,” but I don’t hear you raising a fuss about that.
General Petraeus is a big boy, and he wouldn’t have crossed the line into politics if he didn’t think he could handle his own business.
September 24th, 2007 at 5:05 am
You might have a point if this were a defense of Petraeus rather than a critique of the Flyer, or if I had at any point come close to suggesting that the General was a “victim,” etc. Since it isn’t, you don’t.
September 24th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Ok, I can wholeheartly agree with your first paragraph…our troops SHOULD be treated with respect and appreciation and I pray that no military person will ever again be treated with the disrespect that the Vietnam vets got.
As for the rest of the post, since I live in a news black out, I have no idea what that’s all about though you did give me plenty of resources to look it up if I wanted to….but I need to study for my class tonight…not that I’d look it up anyway….
September 26th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
So you’re just using the opportunity of General Petraeus’ testimony, and MoveOn’s response to it, to bring up the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?
Very classy, Mick.