A Dangerous Precedent

Okay, so Rumsfeld’s generals are in revolt. That may satisfy some of us who think this war was crazy from the start and would like to get rid of Rummy as well as his boss. But frankly I don’t like the idea of generals getting into politics. It would be an awful precedent if retired generals could put enough pressure on the civilian leader of the Pentagon to force him to leave office. What then? They put enough pressure on a Commander-in-Chief – on a President – to force him to leave office, too? That’s what’s called a military coup d'etat. So don’t think of these generals as heroes, even if you agree with the substance of their criticisms. They’re playing with fire.