New JCS Chairman doesn’t think highly of Cheney, either
- From: trudogg <independent@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 07:03:39 -0400
So far, I hold Adm. Mike Mullen, the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, in much higher regard than his predecessor, Gen. Peter Pace.
A few weeks ago, he banned the use of the phrase ?Global War on
Terror? in his office, and prohibited using it ?in any future
correspondence.? A few weeks before that, he demonstrated respect for
reality by telling a congressional committee that the president?s
?surge? policy had a short shelf-life ? troop deployments could be
maintained only through April 2008. In July, he acknowledged ?there
does not appear to be much political progress? in Iraq. In June, we
learned Mullen didn?t approve of the ?surge? policy from the outset.
And this week, Mullen apparently has rejected the Cheney worldview
that has dominated Bush administration?s thinking for more than six
years.
The new chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, expressed deep concerns that
the long counterinsurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have so
consumed the military that the Army and Marine Corps may be unprepared
for a high-intensity war against a major adversary.
He rejected the counsel of those who might urge immediate attacks
inside Iran to destroy nuclear installations or to stop the flow of
explosives that end up as powerful roadside bombs in Iraq or
Afghanistan, killing American troops.
With America at war in two Muslim countries, he said, attacking a
third Islamic nation in the region ?has extraordinary challenges and
risks associated with it.? The military option, he said, should be a
last resort.
I guess it?s only a matter of time before Limbaugh smears the Admiral
as a ?phony? soldier, but in the meantime, it?s refreshing to hear the
Chairman of the JCS saying so many sensible things.
Mullen is definitely not on board with the
Cheney/Lieberman/Kristol/Fox News worldview when it comes to Iran.
He pushed back against those who are calling for military action
against Iran?s nuclear program, saying that diplomatic and economic
pressure must take precedence.
The threat to American and allied troops from high-powered
explosives from Iran, he said, should be countered by halting their
flow into Iraq or Afghanistan across the borders, and with attacks on
those bomb-making and bomb-planting cells inside Iraq or Afghanistan.
?That said, that doesn?t get at the source of it,? he
acknowledged. Asked whether the American military should aim at sites
inside Iran if intelligence indicated that such interdiction could
halt the flow of those bombs, he said ?the risks could be very, very
high.?
?We?re in a conflict in two countries out there right now,? he
added. ?We have to be incredibly thoughtful about the potential of in
fact getting into a conflict with a third country in that part of the
world.?
After meeting with soldiers and marines in Iraq and Afghanistan in
recent weeks, Admiral Mullen said: ?They?re tired. They?ve been doing
unbelievably great work for our country. And we need to make sure we
take care of them and their families.?
Assessing the impact of long, repeated deployments for the ground
forces in Iran and Afghanistan, he said, ?The ground forces are not
broken, but they are breakable.?
Should a Democratic president get elected next year, it?s reassuring
to know he or she will have a capable JCS Chairman at the helm.
Frankly, given his perspective, I?m amazed the White House let the
Admiral get this promotion in the first place.
Steve Benen
.
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