Posted on 08/21/2012 4:32:35 PM PDT by kristinn
ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT — US military chief General Martin Dempsey denounced ex-officers Tuesday for waging a campaign against President Barack Obama, arguing that soldiers had a duty to stay above the political fray.
Wading into a potential minefield during a hotly contested White House race, Dempsey voiced his disapproval of a group of retired military members and CIA officers who have accused Obama of spilling sensitive national security details to help secure his re-election.
Asked if the group's criticism was valid or useful, Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would not comment on the substance of their allegations.
But he added: "As to the latter, is it useful? No, it's not useful. It's not useful to me."
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
If anyone would like to email a comment to the Joint Chiefs, you can try this link as I did. Of course all they did was bounce back my original question:
https://kb.defense.gov/app/ask
Above the fray, NAY! Forever, lose my First Ammendment Rights - NAY! General, your comments and opinions are duly noted.
Without a doubt.
Thank you!! And, yes, I will.
“Your comments are duly noted, “sir”.”
Isn’t that better spelled “cur”?
Enh. He has to stand by his CIC. Who knows what his real thoughts are, and who cares until he becomes a civilian.
He was promoted under the bamster administration so I have a real good guess.I would have resigned before I said anything slagging off our veterans.
Well, with all due respect, if General Dempsey is an Obama appointee, it is abundantly clear why it is , “not useful to me.”
The General needs to remember that these men are retired. They have served, and served honorably. They took the oath to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic...and to bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution. So while it may not be “useful,” to the General, that is not at all the issue or question here.
Is it useful to the Constitution? Yes it most certainly is given the breech Obama represents at the very highest level. And as private citizens it is their right and their duty to expose it.
For the Constitution, and for their brothers in arms and harm’s way who this man’svery position as President threatens each and every day.
America at the Crossroads of History
http://www.jeffhead.com/crossroads.htm
LOL! Of course he "would not comment" -- any halfway-truthful "comment" would have to begin by conceding the obvious, that the retirees had a good beef.
Errand boy, go away. Let's have us a real general, not another Wesley Clark.
Every president from U.S. Grant down to Wm. McKinley served as an officer in the Civil War, no exceptions.
The weakest service jackets were held by Chester Arthur, who was a quartermaster major-general in the N.Y. Militia (and party hack, and crook), and Wm. McKinley was an infantry captain. The strongest jackets were Grant's and James Garfield's: Garfield was cited for heroism as both a company-grade and field-grade officer.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first president of a new generation of politicians who'd been too young to serve in the Civil War. His war, of course, was in Cuba, 30 years later.
Roosevelt and McKinley developed the Mahan Doctrine, which says that the United States will never accept willingly a land war on our own territory, but will instead engage every enemy at great distances, with the mailed fist of the Marine Corps riding the long arm of a strong Navy.
The most recent (serious) bio of George S. Patton describes how he and Ike labored all through the 20's and 30's under a heavy load of peacetime generals (Patton came close to suicide); but in 1941, when the nation was about to put it on the line after Pearl Harbor, the Army got its ass in gear and there was a tremendous shuffling of senior field-grade and flag officers. People who in 1940 looked like they'd be leading any new AEF to Europe were sent down to retirement or a desk at Redstone Arsenal, and a whole new crop got the combat commands -- on probation: one screwup and boom, you're gone, to work for some other pencil-pusher at Fort McNair or someplace.
Ike, Patton, and Omar Bradley all got combat commands right out of the box and stayed in charge for the duration.
Then the Army cycled them out, and went back to political pencil-pusher types like Bedell-Smith.
Retired military have ZERO “duty” to remain “above the fray”.
Per Heinlein’s concepts, they’re exercising their franchise as citizens.
Dempsey has it backwards. As the active duty guy, he is the ONLY one who should STFU on political issues.
What about the homos and bull dykes marching in the freakshow parades?
Obama, arguing that soldiers had a duty to stay above the political fray. ....................................................... Errrrr? Like in Florida 2000????
There are liberals in the military - there are gays in the military - there are traitors in the military, conservatives, patriots, heroes and cowards. Here's what we know about Dempsey - he doesn't believe people have the right to free speech who disagree with him. That makes him a liberal...
Dempsey is an ass with no knowledge of US history or he’d know that plenty of former military officers have gotten into politics. Most notably the Generals who later became Presidents starting with Washington and then Jackson, Grant, and Eisenhower.
Reagan served in the US Army during WW2 making training films.
Yes indeed.
Is it just me, or is Dempsey a hypocrite as I perceive this? Dempsey jumps into the "fray" with his condemnation of these brave former soldiers and CIA officers because they jumped into the "fray" to voice their concern that the Obozo admin is putting lives at risk!! That is at the very least being hypocritical!!
There isn't a general officer or admiral serving on active duty that isn't a political animal.
What the General is complaining about is the fact that he had no chance to suppress or hold up the release of the book until after October's theatrical release of Obama’s massive, free, reelection movie. Now the best he can hope to become is a member of the board at Mattel Toy company. If the general wants to complain how about he and the current JSOC Commander and USSOCOM Commander go for a little run, swim, night jump, and lock out from a sub?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.