Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Army Times

Disgruntled generals’ ‘whining’ is self-serving

After hearing a recent radio broadcast featuring retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste spout off ad nauseam against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, I came away sick and saddened that once-respected generals continue to cast themselves with anti-war, anti-American scoundrels.

What is more stupefying is that these soured generals have no common manifesto. Instead, their loosely wired personal — as opposed to professional — agendas continue to run amok and garner them false fame and profit.

It’s time to put the spotlight on them.

• Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinny is a Clinton-era appointee to his last military command, Central Command. It was an inglorious command tenure by all accounts. He retired before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and remains uninformed on the dynamics regarding the current war on terrorism and daily operational affairs in Iraq.

• Retired Army Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold’s intractable notions run counter-culture to the warrior ethos of our proud Marines serving today. His sour-grapes criticism and castigation of Rumsfeld do nothing more than undermine the Marines losing their lives every day fighting in a noble cause. Be assured, Newbold’s and Zinni’s anti-war mantras are the real issue.

• Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs is a loyalist of former Army Chief of Staff retired Gen. Eric Shinseki. Riggs helped craft Shinseki’s misguided transformation plan, which ground the Army to a halt. He served as a lieutenant general up until he retired, and it was Rumsfeld who retired him as a two-star.

• Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton once commanded the Army Infantry Center and later oversaw the training of Iraqi forces. Although Eaton never worked higher than the tactical level, he somehow felt compelled to state that “Rumsfeld was incompetent at the tactical, operational and strategic levels of war.” The bottom line, here you have a soured two-star general assessing the secretary of defense.

• Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack commanded the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq late in the war. A Fayetteville, N.C., newspaper put his criticisms in their proper context. The real agenda: Swannack was miffed that Rumsfeld did not support his nomination for promotion to three stars.

• Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste -- On the radio show, Batiste stated Rumsfeld did not seal off Baghdad once we took it and wrongly directed the Iraqi army and Iraqi police forces to stand down.

These amounted to major mistakes, as Batiste puts it, and were the reasons he felt compelled to retire “as a matter of principle” in order to speak out against Rumsfeld. Funny, these alleged actions of Rumsfeld took place in 2003. Then, 2½ years later, after Batiste pinned on a second star, after he commanded his Division in Iraq, and after he stayed in long enough to ensure he would get two-star retired pay, he stumbled across this principle.

Generals who have worked closely with Rumsfeld at the strategic level all support him — retired Gen. Tommy Franks, retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, Gen. George Casey, Gen. John Abizaid and Gen. Peter Schoomaker.

Now, who do you believe? I’ll give you a hint. It shouldn’t be the six whining, self-serving generals who fervently believe they have a vote in the selection of the nation’s secretary of defense.

To these generals, I say, grow up, count your blessings and pray for every man and woman in the defense establishment serving in time of war. That includes Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

I’ll end by passing along the words of an active-duty Army staff sergeant with two recent Iraqi tours, who called in on that same radio show. He said, “General Batiste, in the Army, we are taught to support the chain of command, regardless of your personal feelings. Why are you doing otherwise?”

Sounded like Batiste shuffled his feet. Then, the sergeant went on to say that the actions of these outspoken generals have a detrimental effect on the morale of an Army and nation at war. Batiste simply blew him off.

We should all praise the wisdom and unflappable loyalty of that brave staff sergeant.

The writer is a retired brigadier general who was assistant division commander, 1st Armored Division, and once managed the Army’s $1.5 billion morale, welfare and recreation program as well as all child and family programs. He retired Feb. 1, 2005, after 32 years of service. This column first appeared in print on May 29, 2006.