Generals Accused of Intellectual and Moral Failures

As I read this report from the Washington Post I was skeptical of Ricks’ reporting so I decided to read exactly what Yingling had written. His piece is indeed a scathing indictment of the Generals’ inability to convince the civilian policymakers to do the right thing. It is also a scathing indictment of the status quo and the bureaucratic nature of the Military Institution.

However, short of a mass mutiny I am at a loss as to what the “Generals” could have done given the actors who make up this Civilian Leadership. The Chiefs of Staff do actually work for the Commander-in-Chief and are suppose to follow orders. That is their job. Shinseki and Zinni did stand up and were tossed aside like so much flotsam and jetsam.

The message was sent and the message was received. The Military is after all a bureaucratic institution and pensions, etc., are hanging in the balance. Also, you don’t get that extra star by bucking the institution. You get that extra star by being a “Good German.” Shinseki and Zinni are the rare Americans. Let us not forget that even once it was obvious what a disaster this Civilian Administration was it was returned to office in 2004. The “Generals” are no different from the Average American.

So, as I read Yingling’s article it became clear to me that though he is blaming the “Generals” it is also quite clear that his article is a stinging rebuke of the Institution as a whole and the Civilian Leadership in particular.

You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make it drink.

The moral failure took place at the water’s edge.