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US Generals in revolt

Richard J. Whalen, a former senior editor of Time and Fortune, writing in The Nation, reports:

"A revolt is brewing among our retired Army and Marine generals. This rebellion--quiet and nonconfrontational, but remarkable nonetheless--comes not because their beloved forces are bearing the brunt of ground combat in Iraq but because the retirees see the US adventure in Mesopotamia as another Vietnam-like, strategically failed war, and they blame the errant, arrogant civilian leadership at the Pentagon. The dissenters include two generals who led combat troops in Iraq: Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack Jr., who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, and Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the First Infantry Division (the "Big Red One"). These men recently sacrificed their careers by retiring and joining the public protest."

It's an extraordinary state of affairs coming, as it does, on the eve of the mid-term Congressional elections, the release of the Woodward book and increasing disquiet about the state of things in the US. Read the complete piece here.

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