Retired General Who Opposed Iraq War Has Change of Heart
Monday, December 10, 2007 at 12:55AM MAJ GEN (RET) John Batiste was a critic of the war in Iraq and wrote this in May 2007:
The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war.
--Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA, Ret.
Well, yet another change of heart. MGN Batiste co-wrote an op-ed called Getting Beyond Stalemate to Win a War in the Washington Post on 8 DEC with Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom and supporter of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the op-ed, Batiste, who was previously very critical of the war and said the Bush "administration is using David Petraeus", now says:
It's time to discuss the way forward rather than prosecute the past. Congress must do the same, for our nation and the troops.
Key Points:
- First, the United States must be successful in the fight against worldwide Islamic extremism…. Failure is not an option.
- Iraq is central to that fight. We cannot walk away from our strategic interests in the region.
- The counterinsurgency campaign led by Gen. David Petraeus is the correct approach in Iraq. It is showing promise of success
- Americans must mobilize for the Long War..
And most surprising is the criticism of Congress:
- "America's veterans -- young and old -- are resolved to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. This commitment, and nothing less, should compel us to stand together, in and out of uniform. Would that Congress finds the courage to bury its pride and do the same."
HALLELUJAH! Read the entire article
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Reader Comments (18)
What happened to apologies?
Shh, Cal! Let's not tempt fate! A change of heart is good. Someone's gotta be the grown up here; might as well be us.
Hmmmm, where are all the anti-war folks when one of their own changes course? They all show up when a general maintains a position against the war, don't they?
"Hmmmm, where are all the anti-war folks when one of their own changes course?"
they're right here.
can't wait to see your post about this....
KEvron
"can't wait to see your post about this...."
read it but i saw no remarks from the soldiers of those families to see if the families were in sync with them. we already know of cyndi sheehan whose views contradicted those of her son.
"can't wait to see your post about this...."
also i noticed that all the quotes from the families were the remarks of women. no quotes from men, why not?
how was the poll conducted, by phone interviews, where the answerer was considered the spokesperson of whole family?
Kevron, can you not read? You’re supposed to enter your name, not mine, in the Name section.
There are several reasons for the result of the poll.
#1 – “Families with ties to the military” can mean almost anyone. I counterprotested “military families” with Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan who were NOT military in any capacity. “With ties to the military” can mean a friend, a classmate, etc.
#2 – Over 50% of active duty or or vets think the war wasn’t worth it? Why do they consistently keep reenlisting then? The re-enlistment rate exceeds 100% every month and it’s even higher in theater. Sorry, something smells fishy.
#3 – Many soldiers have been on multiple deployments. We’re getting physically exhausted. It’s just a fact of war.
#4 – Even if these stats are completely accurate, people still trust Republicans over Democrats.
#5 – You’ve skirted the issue, which is, what do you have to say about GEN Batiste changing his mind? Nothing? That’s what I thought. You have to resort to a questionable poll.
I’m a military wife and support the mission. I’m realistic about the burdens and problems but still support the effort. The fact is that this strategy is working and that is Batiste’s point.
"also i noticed that all the quotes from the families were the remarks of women. no quotes from men, why not?"
i couldn't tell you why. make up a reason of your own; make sure it reflects your attitude toward women.
"how was the poll conducted, by phone interviews, where the answerer was considered the spokesperson of whole family?"
do i have to do everything for you?!
KEvron
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KEvron
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KEvron
Ah, well then Kevron if you insist on being weird I'll have to go back to deleting you. Hoping you had grown up is obviously futile.
I just got this e-mail a minute ago:
Ironic, ain't it?
i just got this e-mail a minute ago:
"Amy Proctor misrepresented what i said to her in my email"
KEvron, aka Amy Proctor
Maj. Gen. John Batiste's comments are huge news, which is why the Kool-Aid Krowd is going nutso.
Well...more nutso than usual (if that is possible).
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KEvron
KEvron insulting a soldier and an Army wife. He's as bad as Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton who called Petraeus a liar. I guess when you can't "use" a general to make a point you have to try to discredit the military and OIF vets. Good job!
Because you cannot follow simple instructions regarding authorship, you'll be deleted.
"i couldn't tell you why. make up a reason of your own; make sure it reflects your attitude toward women".
don't need to make up a reason of my own. but this answer you give shows your attitude towards honesty.
the reason is that the poll is more reflective of a woman's viewpoint in regards to this war than a man's viewpoint on it.
"do i have to do everything for you?!"
1. no not everything. i have the ability to ask my own questions. you just need to answer the questions pertaining to your source. you are using it to back yourself up, not us thus it is up to you to defend the validity of that source, not us.
2. with telephone interviews the poll reflects only the viewpoint of the person who answers the question. it does not reflect the viewpoint of whole family. and if more women answer the phone and participates in the poll it will reflect the women's viewpoint and not necessarily the man of the house.
2646 comments on that article when I looked! Any volunteers to read thru and see what's going on? I don't even wanna start ...
Can you provide the URL, Brian?