Opinion! A Phony Hero for a Phony War

Gerald · 11-18-12, 05:08 PM

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FASTIDIOUSNESS is never a good sign in a general officer. Though strutting military peacocks go back to Alexander’s time, our first was MacArthur, who seemed at times to care more about how much gold braid decorated the brim of his cap than he did about how many bodies he left on beachheads across the Pacific. Next came Westmoreland, with his starched fatigues in Vietnam. In our time, Gen. David H. Petraeus has set the bar high. Never has so much beribboned finery decorated a general’s uniform since Al Haig passed through the sally ports of West Point on his way to the White House.

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“What’s wrong with a general looking good?” you may wonder. I would propose that every moment a general spends on his uniform jacket is a moment he’s not doing his job, which is supposed to be leading soldiers in combat and winning wars — something we, and our generals, stopped doing about the time that MacArthur gold-braided his way around the stalemated Korean War.

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And now comes “Dave” Petraeus, and the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. No matter how good he looked in his biographer-mistress’s book, it doesn’t make up for the fact that we failed to conquer the countries we invaded, and ended up occupying undefeated nations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/op...-war.html?_r=0

Note: November 16, 2012

Cybermat47 · 11-18-12, 05:12 PM

Too true.

For some reason, MacArthur strikes me as being douchey.

the_tyrant · 11-18-12, 05:16 PM

I always thought the idea was so that the general is protected against assassins with a set of chainmail

But still, its either this or the Genghis Khan model, aka "let him decorate himself with the heads of his enemies"

Karle94 · 11-18-12, 05:27 PM

Should`t Patton fit in there somewhere?

Cybermat47 · 11-18-12, 05:32 PM

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Originally Posted by Karle94

Should`t Patton fit in there somewhere?

He's busy beating up trauma victims

u crank · 11-18-12, 06:03 PM

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THE problem was that he hadn’t led his own Army to win anything even approximating a victory in either Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s not just General Petraeus. The fact is that none of our generals have led us to a victory since men like Patton and my grandfather, Lucian King Truscott Jr., stormed the beaches of North Africa and southern France with blood in their eyes and military murder on their minds.

Those generals, in my humble opinion, were nearly psychotic in their drive to kill enemy soldiers and subjugate enemy nations.

Yea. That's what we need. Even more dead Muslims.

Karle94 · 11-18-12, 06:12 PM

No, what we need is dead terrorists. Preferably all of them.

u crank · 11-18-12, 06:29 PM

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Originally Posted by Karle94

No, what we need is dead terrorists. Preferably all of them.

Right. Agreed. Don't send a General and an army into a Middle East country looking for them and not expect to kill a lot of innocent people.

Red Brow · 11-18-12, 06:36 PM

He was The Great Khan. He had what would be equivalent to generals under him. Obama could be just about anything found from one end of the universe to the other, but he is not The Great Khan. Perhaps a con. He is now my fearless leader thanks to lots and lots of little people.

Sailor Steve · 11-18-12, 06:48 PM

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Originally Posted by Red Brow

...lots and lots of little people.

Does this mean you believe you know better than all those "little people"?

Karle94 · 11-18-12, 07:05 PM

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Originally Posted by u crank

Right. Agreed. Don't send a General and an army into a Middle East country looking for them and not expect to kill a lot of innocent people.

No, send me. I`ll talk about my free and open society and they would kill themselves.

u crank · 11-18-12, 07:11 PM

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Originally Posted by Karle94

No, send me. I`ll talk about my free and open society and they would kill themselves.

Do you mean the terrorists or the innocent civilians?

Red Brow · 11-18-12, 07:15 PM

The common notion bandied about is that common people, the little people that are not powerful bankers, or rich elites are the ones who determine what guy (or gal) becomes president of the USA. I said I was a Globalists (for some of the reasons I gave - but not all the reasons i.e. the ones I hold back), so yes, a Globalist and over-the-top Zionist. But I didn't say I was stupid.

Karle94 · 11-18-12, 07:19 PM

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Originally Posted by u crank

Do you mean the terrorists or the innocent civilians?

The terrorists, I hope.

u crank · 11-18-12, 07:32 PM

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Originally Posted by Karle94

The terrorists, I hope.

Yea if only that would work.

11-18-12, 05:12 PM	#2
Cybermat47 Willing Webfooted Beast Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 5,408 Downloads: 300 Uploads: 23	Too true. For some reason, MacArthur strikes me as being douchey. __________________ Historical TWoS Gameplay Guide: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2572620 Historical FotRSU Gameplay Guide: https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho....php?p=2713394

11-18-12, 05:16 PM	#3
the_tyrant Admiral Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 2,272 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	I always thought the idea was so that the general is protected against assassins with a set of chainmail But still, its either this or the Genghis Khan model, aka "let him decorate himself with the heads of his enemies" __________________ My own open source project on Sourceforge OTP.net KGB grade encryption for the rest of us

11-18-12, 05:27 PM	#4
Karle94 The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Norseland Posts: 1,355 Downloads: 253 Uploads: 0	Should`t Patton fit in there somewhere? __________________ Find my mods here: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/lzgciodldp58p/SH4_Mods My SH4 blog here: http://karle94.blogspot.com/

11-18-12, 06:12 PM	#7
Karle94 The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Norseland Posts: 1,355 Downloads: 253 Uploads: 0	No, what we need is dead terrorists. Preferably all of them. __________________ Find my mods here: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/lzgciodldp58p/SH4_Mods My SH4 blog here: http://karle94.blogspot.com/

11-18-12, 06:36 PM	#9
Red Brow A-ganger Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Colorado Posts: 72 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Genghis Khan was not a general He was The Great Khan. He had what would be equivalent to generals under him. Obama could be just about anything found from one end of the universe to the other, but he is not The Great Khan. Perhaps a con. He is now my fearless leader thanks to lots and lots of little people.

11-18-12, 07:15 PM	#13
Red Brow A-ganger Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Colorado Posts: 72 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	to Sailor Steve The common notion bandied about is that common people, the little people that are not powerful bankers, or rich elites are the ones who determine what guy (or gal) becomes president of the USA. I said I was a Globalists (for some of the reasons I gave - but not all the reasons i.e. the ones I hold back), so yes, a Globalist and over-the-top Zionist. But I didn't say I was stupid.