"Mr. President, you are breaking our great Army and Marine Corps"
Most Americans don't believe our president when he says that he's doing everything he can to protect the men and women he puts in harm's way. He never really "listened to the Generals on the ground." He simply fires the ones who tell him what he doesn't want to hear, and hires new ones that agree with him.
Hooray for VoteVets, one of the few veterans organizations that puts the welfare of the troops ahead of partisan politics, for bringing us a voice that speaks truth to power. Here's Maj Gen John Batiste (Ret.), former commanding general of the first infantry division in Iraq:
Who has more war credibility here -- Tony Snow, Rush Limbaugh or Major General Batiste?
The Rabid Righties and the swiftboaters will now come out of the woodwork .. but tough luck, because General Batiste has an unimpeachable record. He received his second star when he passed the loyalty screening test given by Rummy himself.
Batiste is not and has never been a Democrat .. he is not running for office .. he is not looking for a political appointment. There can be no political or personal advantage in this for him. In fact, he was fired as a consultant to CBS because of this ad.
Batiste successfully commanded a division in combat, and was offered a third star with a plum assignment. In other words, General Batiste was in reach of the highest levels of the US military. But he chose to resign his life's work instead.
He knows how the military is supposed to work, and what it means to be in harm's way .. and now he chooses to speak for the soldiers who cannot.
Then there is this:
Poll: More troops unhappy with Bush’s course in Iraq
Jan 6, 2007 -- The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown increasingly pessimistic about chances for victory, according to the 2006 Military Times Poll.
For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president’s handling of the war than approve of it. Barely one-third of service members approve of the way the president is handling the war.........
