The number now stands at 4.
Four recently retired Generals in the UNITED STATES armed forces, one of who actually lead a division in Iraq, have gone public seeking the removal of the current Secretary of War. They are Major General John Batiste, Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold, Marine General Anthony Zinni and Major General Paul Eaton. Apparently these generals have major problems with the leadership of Herr Rumsfeld.
Each of the four has varied reasons for their opposition to Rumsfeld. One of the four, General Newbold, has the courage to bring up the political topic most taboo in the Iraq War disaster. Was and is the Iraq War Constitutional? A few excerpts from his recent comments provide insight:
“From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps lieutenant general and director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led us to the invasion of Iraq–an unnecessary war. Inside the military family, I made no secret of my view that the zealots’ rationale for war made no sense. And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable. But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat–al-Qaeda. I retired from the military four months before the invasion, in part because of my opposition to those who had used 9/11’s tragedy to hijack our security policy.Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public. I’ve been silent long enough.”
“I am driven to action now by the missteps and misjudgments of the White House and the Pentagon, and by my many painful visits to our military hospitals.”
“With the encouragement of some still in positions of military leadership, I offer a challenge to those still in uniform: a leader’s responsibility is to give voice to those who can’t–or don’t have the opportunity to–speak. Enlisted members of the armed forces swear their oath to those appointed over them; an officer swears an oath not to a person but to the Constitution. The distinction is important.“
“The consequence of the military’s quiescence was that a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, al-Qaeda, became a secondary effort.”
“To be sure, the Bush Administration and senior military officials are not alone in their culpability. Members of Congress–from both parties–defaulted in fulfilling their constitutional responsibility for oversight.”
Even though General Newbold properly raises the Constitution as the final authority in the matter of war, he fails to understand what the Constitution says about with whom the “war power” resides or how that authority can be modified. Article I Section 8 clearly specifies that Congress ALONE as the power to declare war. Congress does not have the Constitutional authority to cede the war decision-making authority to the President. No sir General Newbold, Congress does not have “responsibility for oversight.”
No simple Act of the Federal Congress has the power to change the Constitution in any capacity. An Article V action commenced by a two-third majority in both the House and the Senate and approved by three-fourths of the bi-cameral state legislatures is required to alter the war powers of Congress to one of “oversight.” The fact that the spineless Congress did not perform its duty to declare the war should be signal enough to every military officer that the Iraq War was unconstitutional. Every military officer is oath bound to refuse to mobilize for an unconstitutional war.
It must not be forgotten that those military officers ultimately work for us, The People through the Constitution, and not GWBush. They may take orders from the President but whenever those orders exceed his authority all military officers are OBLIGATED to disobey that order. Military officers do not yet serve under a personal loyalty oath to the Fuhrer, as did the Nazis.
Generals Zinni, Batiste, Newbold and Eaton should have refused the order to mobilize even if it meant court martial, jail time, dishonorable discharge or complete loss of rank and pension. The potential threat unto death for their soldiers MANDATED that they do so. Why? Because they were not given legal orders to fight in the first place. How inconvenient for those hundreds-of-thousands who have died needlessly that these oath-bound, flag-rank officers have now found some moral conviction only after the tragedy has been fully wrought.
To make matters worse for the military leadership, back in late 2004 GWBush publicly admitted to Barbara Walters that there were no WMD. Every soldier in Iraq was then faced with a choice and a dilemma … something like this:
“The solitary reason for our fighting in Iraq has been publicly admitted by the Commander-in-Chief to have been empty of any truth. Since there was no provocation or reason for expecting an armed attack from Iraq, my choices are: 1. Follow illegal orders, continue fighting and willfully commit war crimes or 2. Personally stand down, refuse to fight and demand to be returned to America.“
Whether the intelligence about WMD in Iraq was …
- Inaccurate – flagrant malfeasance by the intelligence agencies or
- Intentionally corrupted to sell the Iraq war – which convincingly seems to be the case with GWBush
… then there is no basis in law or justice or provocation or national defense or duty for the military to remain in Iraq? GWBush has undeniably taken America into a war of aggression. That war violates the Nuremberg Accords and numerous other peace treaties to which the nation is a signatory.
These four military men must read the Constitution for what it strictly says and return to their original oath obligations. They have yet to make the requisite conclusions or act accordingly.
Newbold’s failing to embrace an immediate and complete withdrawal from Iraq illuminates his hollow understanding of the Constitution. He must recognize and publicly state that all Iraqi military operations must cease and complete troop withdrawal commences immediately.
Costly? Painful? Embarrassing? Humiliating?
All of the above and more, but on what basis did we go in the first place?
A naked lie from GWBush.
Only when the military recognizes the consequences of GWBush’ lies and responds consistent with the Constitution will the current Imperial American mayhem stop. The imminent threat of another baseless Middle East war, this time against Iran, requires these four Generals to speak NOW and DEMAND that GWBush be removed from office immediately!
Restore the Constitution.
Recall the troops.
Impeach, Convict, Indict, Arrest, and Incarcerate GWBush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, et al.
Why? Because, they willfully commenced a war of aggression and the attendant war crimes.
The future of the Republic depends on justice being served upon these perpetrators.
James 4:17 (New American Standard Bible)
17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Ephesians 5:11-13 (New American Standard Bible)
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”