Today the Senate approved, by a 72 to 25 vote, a symbolic, Republican-initiated resolution condemning the recent MoveOn.org ad that called Gen. David Petraeus, Gen. "Betray Us," with 22 Democrats voting with the Republicans. Well, why not? One more warm fuzzy for the road before our patriotic fever condemns Iraq to a sectarian fueled hell.
What are we doing here? What’s the point of this resolution? I think the best show of support the General could have received was a nice Senate ass-kissing while conducting the "surge" against the will of the people. Of course he got that, because he’s the Christ or something. Ever since taking over the man has received unprecedented support from Congress, and members of the media, and anyone else with any power and influence. (How many times do I have to hear he's the right man for the job? Well why the hell did it take us four years to find the him and crown him Imperator?) And then some wild-eyed liberal organization issues a half-assed advertisement and the Senate has to rush in and make sure Caesar’s feelings aren’t hurt? What is going on?? Is Petraeus the top commander in Iraq or a cuddly Teletubby? Tinky-Winky, did the crazy man scare you? Are you going to be able to deal with the humanitarian crisis engulfing Iraq or has your will to fight been shattered?
Look, I’m no fan of MoveOn.org, I think their advertisement is ridiculous, but the Senate just wont be outdone, will it? Yesterday they decide to block a bill allowing more troop leave and then today issue this statement condemning any criticism of the General under the guise of patriotism. So when they could have done something of substance they balked, and the very next day they fashion this piece of junk resolution out of childish rhetoric and congratulate themselves on how much they love the troops. This is as nutty as the Freedom Fries boycott; as hollow as a yellow ribbon on your SUV; as crazy having the conduct gay sting operations in airport bathrooms while I have to take off half my clothes and hand over my shampoo just to get to an airplane because apparently the threat level is Orange.
President Bush himself felt compelled to hold a press conference and label the ad "disgusting." He then said, "I felt like the ad was an attack, not only on Gen. Petraeus, but on the U.S. military." Yes, I'm sure the President was deeply troubled by the ad and its effect on military morale. After-all, this is the guy who sent the troops into Iraq to hunt for WMDs and strike a blow on terrorism, neither of which existed in Iraq at the time. Then he sat by while we fumbled around the country and lost control of security. Then there's the whole lack of troop armor thing. And on and on. The president admittedly loses no sleep over any of these morale killers, but finds MoveOn.org's ad "disgusting." What a joke.
What does all of this say about how we really view our troops? This isn't respect. This is just posturing. It's condescending to the very people we've asked to carry and win this war. They're good enough to carry that burden but not good enough to hear what some anti-war liberals think? What this is really about is using the troops, again, for political gain. It's not about protecting troops from harmful words, it's about making it look like you're their protector. It's like when daddy has to show up at school to tell the other kids to stop teasing his big, tough son. On one hand we send our youth to boot camp to learn to defend democracy to the death and on the other we treat them like a bunch of innocent woodland sprites whose psyche is so delicate that any criticism of the war will destroy everything they've ever believed in. Don’t worry, if putting your life on the line for the grandeur of George W. Bush isn't a rude awakening, nothing MoveOn.org comes up can be.
General Petraeus is a smart and powerful man. He is an expert in counter insurgency, with a PhD from Princeton, wielding the most powerful military in history. I don't think he needs any lackeys in the Senate to protect him from the likes of MoveOn.org. How can they love the idea of fighting for freedom but have to hide behind the flag every time someone gets their pacifist back up. Something is amiss here. I am going to submit this is why we can't win in Iraq. The war's creators and strongest supports are living in a dream world with absolutely no backbone or substance. They talk tough but a hairball from MoveOn.org makes them so nervous they have to issue resolutions against it. Yes, observe how much they love America by passing this symbolic resolution re-asserting faith in the grand General Petraeus, and banishing patriotic-less verbiage back into the darkness whence it came. Somewhere a dog barked.
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