The Gallows of Reality

We’re already experiencing the novelty of a post-Rumsfeld era at the Pentagon in the form of a Joint Chiefs of Staff that has suddenly found its voice after having been neutered since before our initial invasion of Iraq. The point of view expressed by “the generals” has always been a political scrap to President Bush, tossed out whenever the catapult for propaganda needed repairs, and until now the military had been effectively tied to a board and submerged the moment a flower of dissent appeared to be budding. Careers ended, missions changed, grown men in smart outfits covered with shiny and colorful medals hunched over Rumsfeld’s lap for a spanking, the patronizing “I listen to what the generals on the ground have to say” comment always available to the President, is now more or less a non-factor as the dictator whose paddle he once relied on is no longer there, and in the void that remains, dreaded honesty is expanding.

He truly is alone at this point, or I should say, the right-wing is truly alone. As the idea that a military has no business being involved in military strategy is becoming an obvious culprit for what is wrong, responsible for not only the mess, but also the continuing addiction to a mulish assumption that the public will continue to stand by while men in business suits scheme for a way to continue using the troops like a hammer to pound nails into concrete. The amount of contempt and obvious lack of respect for these volunteers is so prevalent within the corps of right-wing think tanking and punditry at this moment, it’s difficult to imagine the force having been perceived by these people as anything but an expendable resource from the very beginning. How else can a statement like this from a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board be explained? “…all that means is decreasing the length of some breaks from tours of duty and increasing the lengths of some tours of duty. That’s not a hard thing to do when you’ve got 1.4 million troops.”

The generals provide us an insight by telling us they “think the White House, after a month of talks, still does not have a defined mission and is latching on to the surge idea in part because of limited alternatives”, and if you focus on the message coming from the right-wing, strategy in terms of securing victory is not the fight they’re engaged in at the moment. Instead it is whether or not the military is capable of providing the number of troops expected to be called for early next year. The objective at hand right now for these people is hardly whether or not more troops will make a difference, but whether or not we have them to send in the first place. Once the decision is made and promises to those in need of rest are broken, the outcome doesn’t become any less grim, though for the time being, the ability to substitute “the President is listening to his generals” with “the President’s plan must be given time to work before it is criticized” provides enough political cover to last at least until a Democratic Congress can be blamed for certain failures that are bound to take place.

Coming up with a justification for sending more troops over there is the hitch, and right now there are plenty of signs that indicate the mission at hand has to do with nothing more than just that. To concede the military’s points and decide that resources are not available would legitimize the correct perception shared by the majority of Americans, that not only are we kicking a dead horse in Iraq, but our military is close to lying down beside it. This does not bode well for the legions of war-happy influences interested in nothing besides a way to skate past reality on the road to 2008. For them the sacrifice that is expected has more to do with securing their own dignity than securing Baghdad. The war is lost, but the battle over its political consequences continues to rage, regardless of whether the military is on board or not. The gallows of reality sit ominously atop a hill not too far off in the distance, and for the time being, our President’s top priority is to find a way to keep circling it until his time is up.