From The Corner:
Much more serious than Bergdahl’s desertion is our commander-in-chief’s decision to hand the enemy a victory to retrieve a likely deserter, compounded by a decision to celebrate this serious defeat at the White House, and then to clumsily attempt to cover their political tracks by trotting out Susan Rice to deceive the public about Bergdahl’s service record. This is dishonor, from the highest levels of American leadership. And that kind of dishonor is much more grave, much more difficult to absorb and overcome than any given soldier’s decision to desert. Our culture — especially our military culture — is remarkably strong. It can (and has) withstood incompetent and corrupt leadership. It can (and has) faced and overcome dishonor at every level of leadership. It can and will withstand and survive the Obama administration’s grotesque incompetence, dishonesty, and political opportunism. However, if the Obama administration is in fact setting an enduring precedent for American leadership, where leaders hand our enemies military victories to score political points at home, where leaders lie to the public to conceal those mistakes and confuse the public about the facts, and then wax indignant when called on those actions, then our culture — including our military culture — will fray and crack at a fundamental level.
– David French, a US Military Combat vet
One of the reasons, I believe, that the Left hates the military is EXACTLY to have a fully functional and exceptional military organization are those above Principles being ingrained at all times from the lowest private through to the Chiefs of Staff. Those principles seem to be anathema to the Left that certainly doesn’t seem to never waste an opportunity to scoff at those values. Frankly, I think the scorn they show towards our folks in uniform, any lip service to the contrary, is because those values are of little use to them and believe them to anachromistic – old fashioned, of no worth, and impediments to their “Progress”. After all, these are old fashioned and serve as foundational and absolute values that simply get in the way when Progressives are trying to “fundamentally transform” the culture in their own image (yes, they believe and act as their own demi-gods even if they won’t admit it except via the occasional gaffe or two).
Sure, the military is subject to the same foibles as we outside of it – but for them, the repercussions of failure are much more immediate, dangerous, and in the right circumstances, deadly. And yes, politics is at work in it as surely as it is outside of it. That said, every Branch has its own version and statement of the above and it has served this country (and the world) well for hundreds of years.
French is right – if the military is co-opted to be brought down to the politicians’ level of character, we are all screwed and only God knows what our future would be like. And make no mistake – the Obama Administration is working as hard and as fast as it can to transform it
