I've just been reading some columns on David Hackworth's web page. http://www.sftt.org/hackstarget.html Hackworth is often called "the most decorated" military man in US History. He is an outspoken critic with bipartisan credibility. (He was scathing about details of the Balkans intervention, while grudgingly admitting that it went pretty well, overall, under difficult conditions.) (See: http://www.davidbrin.com/neocons.html)
Hackworth quotes DoD Sec. Rumsfeld as saying that the draftees that fought in Vietnam were of "no value to the US military." I think that that is at least as egregious an insult to Vietnam-era vets (in general) as any criticism John Kerry leveled in the 1970s, and probably far less accurate. Is this quote being noticed and used?
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The following is excerpted from "Uncle Sam Will Soon Want Your Kids": See: http://www.sftt.org/hackstarget.html
"Although Pentagon puff artists insist they're making quota, recruiters are already saying it would be easier to find $100 bills on the sidewalk outside a homeless shelter than fill their enlistment quotas, even with the huge bonuses now being paid.
"So the draft - which will include both boys and girls this time around - is a no-brainer in '05 and '06.
"Oh sure, the Pentagon suits will fight it. Volunteers tend to go with the flow and seldom blow the whistle on military stupidity, flawed tactics and self-serving leadership. Draftees don't hesitate to make waves and tell the truth. Not to mention influential citizens with draft-age kids who'll soon be demanding answers.
"Rumsfeld, in fact, has already kicked off the anti-draft campaign by denigrating the draftees who fought in Vietnam. The SecDef, who prefers sycophants who don't ask questions, recently stated that Vietnam-era draftees added "No value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services .
"Wrong once again. I led draftees for almost four years in Vietnam and for several years during the Korean War. If well-led, there are no finer soldiers. Ask the Nazis, the Japanese and the Reds in Korea and in Vietnam, where "no value" draftees cleaned their clocks in fight after fight.
"Israel, a country that has lived under the barrel of the Islamic terrorist gun for decades, has the most combat experienced counterinsurgent force in the world - and boy and girl draftees are its major resource.
"Count on it. We will follow their lead."
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Personally, I think Hackworth is too harsh. Not toward Rumsfeld, who deserves every word and the contempt of all decent Americans. But toward the military officer corps, whose opposition to the draft may be generally more agonized and thoughtful than Hackworth expresses here. They genuinely want the benefits of professionalism and do not wish to see the divisiveness brought on by a draft. Moreover, they saw the same travesties that Kerry did in Vietnam, when the officer Corps was infested with monsters like Lt. William Calley, who made aberrations like Abu Ghraib seem like mild hazing. (Exactly the kinds of atrocities that Kerry complained about in the 70s.)
Unlike many of the liberals opposing the Iraq War, I do believe that events like Abu Ghraib are exceptions to a generally high level of professionalism among our soldiers. What Abu Ghraib proved is that two things are absolutely necessary. Two things that fell apart in Vietnam and that are being deliberately undermined by Rumsfeld today.
* Policy at the top that insists on behavior that reflects well upon America and proves our high moral standing.
* Relentless supervision to ensure that bad apples do not spoil the barrel.
While Rumsfeld is dismantling both of these, I believe that senior officers desperately want them.
No, the US Officer Corps must be seen for what it is... our greatest and final bulwark against rationalizers and would-be tyrants. Following traditions of maturity and excellence laid down by the great George Marshall, the Officer Corps is the third best-educated clade in American society, after college professors and medical doctors! Their dedication to Constitutional government and citizen sovereignty is fierce and under-appreciated by civilians. A majority would die protecting us from tyranny, either imposed from without or creeping Big Brotherdom from within.
Which helps explain the appointment of the new CIA Director Goss, a right-wing political operative who had the gall to tell a passive, GOP-led Senate that he would be neutral and bipartisan upon taking over our Intelligence Community... and who then proceeded to fill dozens of top CIA slots with dedicated neoconservative shills. Several of whom have been heard in the halls gloating that "a hundred heads will roll" at CIA after the election.
The blatant politicization of the CIA began with the scandalous way that intelligence was misused to stir a frenzy over "weapons of mass destruction", exactly replicating the kind of lying pretext we saw in the Tonkin Gulf Incident. It now continues according to plan. First a complete housecleaning at the top, plus an "emergency" reorganization of the intelligence community that removes any diversity of opinion. Soon, purges of those who will not toe the political line. Then everyone who is sick of the lying. Then more.
Read Hackworth. He is a famous American curmudgeon and a bit of a drama queen. But he is also a bona fide American hero and has proved to be RIGHT, far more often than anybody can count.
And he can recognize a repetition of Vietnam stupidities better than anybody. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
