BCT Editorial – 9/13/07

This page was last updated on September 22, 2007.

Damage done; Editorial; Beaver County Times; September 13, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The next president and the next Congress face the enormous task of rebuilding America’s military.

“When President Bush walks away from the White House, he will leave behind an exhausted military.”

[RWC] Ah, an updated version of the Times’ tried and untrue “ground down/up” depiction of our armed forces.

“Come 2009, it will be time to rebuild, rearm and restore morale.

[RWC] What’s significant about 2009? Why not start now?

Is troop morale poor? The editorial didn’t cite any sources.

“A good starting point would be to dump the high-ranking sycophants who have done whatever their master in the White House wanted them to do and replace them with lower ranking generals and admirals who are not tainted by Bush’s failures.”

[RWC] Translation: Anyone who agrees we can’t surrender in Iraq needs to go.

“[M]aster in the White House?” Remember, the Constitution (Article II, Section 2) says, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States …” If carrying out order an order makes an admiral/general a “sycophant,” doesn’t that make everyone in the military a “sycophant?” Perhaps you’re a “sycophant” only if you follow orders not approved of by the Times editorial board.

“In turn, these generals should listen to the captains, major and colonels - this generation’s Powells and Schwarzkopfs - who have been carrying the load in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lessons they have learned are invaluable.”

[RWC] The implication in this paragraph is “the captains, major and colonels - this generation’s Powells and Schwarzkopfs - who have been carrying the load in Iraq and Afghanistan” don’t support the mission. As soon as the Times senses this may not be true, these leaders too will need to be “dumped.”

“If this sounds familiar, that’s basically what happened after Vietnam when the Army rebuilt itself. Let’s hope the damage done by Bush isn’t so extensive that it prevents that from happening again.”

[RWC] Oh man, the Vietnam comparison again! What is it like to live 40 years in the past?