On Monday, the New York Times ran an ad, paid by MoveOn, in which they took the commander of Multinational Force-Iraq, GEN David Petraeus. The ad essentially accused the General of betraying his duty by supporting the escalation of troops in Iraq, and it was meant to blunt any force his testimony might have had.
I didn't serve with the General. I'm given to understand that he's a very intelligent and forceful man, though that's frankly the par with most men and women who rise to general officer rank in the Army; I'm really neutral about the man, though.
I think the agitation over the ad is frankly ridiculous. Over 3700 women and men have died in the course of service; over 27,000 others, including myself, bear the scars resulting from the whips and fardels of war.
If you want to understand why there's such a risk-averse culture in progressive politics, look at the response to the Moveon ad by the progressive pundits that permeate DC culture. Here's Michael Tomasky, former proprietor of the American Prospect, excusing Democrats for not doing anything to end the war and attacking Moveon.
And in Congress? There just aren't the votes. And the forces trying to maximize the number of legislators willing to vote to cut off funding shot themselves in the foot Monday with a full-page ad in the New York Times referring to General Petraeus as "General Betray Us". MoveOn.org, which placed the ill-considered and distasteful ad, probably only ensured that a number of Democrats from swing districts who've been on the fence and maybe leaning toward going anti-war will be less likely to tie themselves to any effort led by MoveOn.
Leaving aside Tomasky's battered spouse enabling of Democrats in Congress for doing nothing to end the war despite the 2006 mandate, and his refusal to acknowledge important objectives achieved by Moveon, like today's Republican Jim Walsh's call for defunding the war, what is up with his aristocratic language? 'Ill-considered'? 'Distasteful'? Well I never! Did he get the vapors? Does he always rely on the kindness of strangers?
Below is another tut-tut message from a liberal wonk, an email by Rachel Kleinfeld of the Truman Project that actually encourages progressive veterans to write to military journals and denounce Moveon (thank God wonks can't organize).
