Posted on 04/29/2006 3:16:26 AM PDT by aculeus
SAN FRANCISCO--George P. Shultz was the secretary of state of the United States during the years that the Soviet Union was led, successively, by Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev. During those years, 1982 to 1989, the United States was led by Ronald Reagan. At the end of our interview, as he was showing me out of his apartment, Mr. Shultz invited me to stop in the dining room. "I want you to see something," he said. We walked over to a table. "Have a look at that. It arrived in the mail the other day." It looked like a polished brass cylinder, open at either end. It was the 14th artillery shell from the 21-gun salute at Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004. "Isn't that something?"
George Shultz is an intellectual, an MIT economist who in his career held two other cabinet posts, labor and Treasury, under Richard Nixon. And clearly he is awed by Ronald Reagan, the "actor" President, and the years he spent serving as Reagan's minister to the world. But I had come to San Francisco because I wanted to talk about the here and now. So did he. Above all, the Revolt of the Generals and the leaks out of the CIA. He's upset.
"I always had a good experience dealing with the career people in government," Mr. Shultz said. "But I have to say it's almost as if there is an insurrection taking place. Particularly what is going on in the military is astonishing and fundamentally intolerable. There has to be a sense of discipline. This is something new, and for everybody's good it has to be dealt with."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Both of them told me that, while this "revolt" is somewhat driven by concern for the way the war is being managed, they both believed the primary motivation behind it was these men had a score to settle with Rumsfeld.
The one who wore 3-stars admitted that most Generals have an ego that is....well, colossal.
Rumsfeld takes and took no guff as Secretary. He said he saw many occasions where Rumsfeld backhanded general officers at meetings and he gave direct and specific orders. If they were not carried out, God help you.
they both believed the primary motivation behind it was these men had a score to settle with Rumsfeld.
Not to mention that they were probably all Clinton appointed Generals.
Generation-X Generals I guess, or worse.
Brown nosers of another general---- Wesley Clark.
Excellent piece- I read the whole article.
These generals have an over-inflated view of themselves that is unsettling.
Most people do not remember that when Rumsfeld started, he set out to change the military from a slow, ground-based behemoth designed to fight the Soviet Union into a more mobile, tactical unit.
Rumsfeld was ruffling generals' feathers before 9/11.
George Shultz was just about the most effective Secretary of State in U.S. history. Under President Reagan's leadership, he helped engineer the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Secretary Shultz deserves tremendous credit for the foreign policy successes of the Reagan years. When has something to say, it is worth listening.
Everybody above O-6 is a politician. The grumpy generals are tools. They're positioning themselves for good things from a Democrat administration. If they bet right they win big. If they bet wrong they are no bigger losers than they are now.
I don't think there are any generals young enough to be part of Generation X. Most likely these jerks are Baby-Boomers. Weasly Clark is a prime example!
Don't dog on my generation because of these fools. Oh, and we are known as the Reagan Generation (at least that's what most of us decided after his funeral).
Sorry. I was thinking of a line from The Conservative Mind something about a "voice forlorn, not because it is no longer heard but because it is no longer even recognizable" or something like that. George Shultz is definitely "old school".
bttt
That's okay. I just woke up and I have a tendency to be on the defensive first thing in the morning. Good thing my husband has finally learned that. :o)
Bump
These generals yield lots of power while in command, and many of them with a large ego think they should go on to be commander in chief, their ideas of military concern are the only right ones.
General Macarthur was troubled with this inflated ego and, was slapped down by President Truman.
Mr Schultz is correct, we have got to get better control of our military leaders and, I would add to that, the CIA.
A break down of leadership will lead to our demise.
Excellent piece...I suggest all should give it a look.
and there it is...
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