Retired Generals Declare War

Retired two-star Army Gen. John Batiste, former Commanding General of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, says he's taken on a new mission: "I left the army in protest to speak out." And he's speaking out loudly and clearly in an ad from VoteVets.org, a Political Action Committee. General Batiste says President Bush "did not listen" to the generals on the ground in Iraq. He says Bush is pursuing "a failed strategy that is breaking our great army and marine corps" and that he has "placed our nation in peril."

VoteVets.org plans to release two more ads featuring retired Major General Paul Eaton and retired General Wesley Clark. The ads are scheduled to run in states targeting key Republican Senators, including Susan Collins (Maine), John Sununu (New Hampshire), John Warner (Virginia) and Norm Coleman (Minnesota), as well as in 10 Congressional districts.

Newsweek's Michael Hirsh explores the changing nature of civilian-military relations in an in-depth article.

The Iraq War has so profoundly transformed the political landscape--and so angered a whole generation of generals who object to the way the conflict was planned and executed by civilians--that the line between military and civilian roles is being muddied as never before. The question is whether this is a good thing--or something very worrying." More.

By washingtonpost.com Editors |  May 11, 2007; 8:55 PM ET Issue Ads
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