..."Rumsfeld should not be driven out by a revolt of generals, retired or not."

There is an interesting article by Tony Blankley that points out that The Washington Post, in its editorial titled "The Generals' Revolt", finds the "rebellion" of the generals attacking Defense Secretary Rumsfeld as "problematic". The editorial states that this rebellion

..." threatens the essential democratic principle of military subordination to civilian control -- the more so because a couple of the officers claim they are speaking for some still on active duty. Anyone who protested the pushback of uniformed military against President Bill Clinton's attempt to allow gays to serve ought to also object to generals who criticize the decisions of a president and his defense secretary in wartime. If they are successful in forcing Mr. Rumsfeld's resignation, they will set an ugly precedent. Will future defense secretaries have to worry about potential rebellions by their brass, and will they start to choose commanders according to calculations of political loyalty?

Mr. Blankley says he finds this editorial to be

...only three fourths fine is that it does not recommend any curative action. All they call for is that people should "object." But an editorial from the newspaper of record in our capital that has identified the rebellion as "[threatening] the essential democratic principle of military subordination to civilian control" is shirking its responsibility by stopping short of recommending necessary action.

He concludes that,

...while I would have wished that the Washington Post editorial had given action guidance (and thus political cover) to our government, the real responsibility for vindicating the principle of military subordination to the civilian government lies with the president and secretary of defense.

Politically unpleasant as it may be, they should promptly order a court of inquiry pursuant to Article 135 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to determine if, as is widely suspected, or if not, the current military clamor for Secretary Rumsfeld to be fired involves any acts of insubordination.

[Rumsfeld] [generals] [Iraq] [quagmire]