Had a buddy, a Marine officer, who was in line for a promotion that would take him to an advanced rank. He told me he did not want it. "From here on it's all politics. I like being a Marine."
The old management aphorism is, "A players hire A players. B players hire B and C players." TFG is not even a B player so what does that say about the people who surround him? I believe the term is kakistocracy, "government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state." No way any general - accustomed to rules, laws, and the chain of command - brings order to that chaos.
I remember your comment, as an embed (or if it wasn't you, maybe Sebastian Junger), that after one of these guys makes full colonel, you can't trust what they say anymore, borne out by experience.
That said, knowing full well what an ignorant blowhard and all-around scumbag Trump is, I was still shocked by the New Yorker article. Kelly saying, You know Hitler's generals tried to kill him, or Milley's resignation letter.
Most curious, to me, is the way Trump and his toadies insist on running these guys down, Mattis, for one, but in fairness, a lot of former military and intelligence people don't care for Milley - they think he's a fat-ass thumbsucker. I do notice that none of them have had the balls to take on Gen. Michael Hayden, who served as both DIRNSA and DCI, and wrote a scathing book about Trump.
In any event, the more dirt that comes out, the better. I don't care how self-interested the source is.
Everyone who is a civilian tends to think of generals as being holier and worthier than all, which in fact is a lie, because as you put it, a lifetime of kissing another fool's ass to rise above that fool tends to make one very stupid and servile in the long run.
Kind of like corporate America-where the top dog is just someone who kissed enough ass and groveled long enough to get to the top. Brains have nothing to do with it-merely the ambition to rise to top does.
In fact, brains are not a prerequisite-they're a disadvantage because you'd quickly realize how fucking stupid wars are but that they're profitable for the military-industrial complex.
The fact that they all have not only not been given a blindfold and a cigarette and a bullet but are still running around free fer chrissakes is a permanent stain on our civilization.
Lucian, I don’t disagree with anything in your article. I spent six years in the army, but my highest rank was SGT E-5 (1961-1967). More recently, I’ve spent over fifty years as a law professor with very little contact with the military. From everything I’ve read, heard and researched, your grandfather was one of the most honorable and principled men ever to wear stars. I recall, in particular, his 1945 speech in the military cemetery in Belgium, best described by Bill Mauldin. What would General Truscott have thought about all these recent shenanigans?
Misplaced hopes of the generals monitoring Trump's endless excesses and acting to counter it, exactly.
And now we have the deranged GOP Trump cult and its enablers raising funds on the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid, with specious argments, featuring inane threats of somehow investigating Hunter Biden's tax issues as a form of revenge, and a headline on my news feed from the Arizona Republic that exactly reverses the causation:
So on this line of bizarre reasoning, it's not Trump and his cult followers, who have spent years and all sorts of energy and propaganda destroying democratic norms, the rule of law, respect for facts that's the problem, and specifically Trump's arguably criminal taking of classified documents, no siree! It's those terrible FBI agents doing their damn job which is the danger!
And it's only August, we have months more of this nonsense to endure before the midterms and likely still more wild claims of election fraud.
I remember reading that great column when you first published it. It echoed my own thoughts about the folly of Trump surrounding himself with generals. I thought that none of them would last very long because they would try to manage Trump and educate him - at least to their military point of view. And that’s pretty much what happened. Trump finally said he knew more than all the generals
This would make one helluva sitcom, or a graphic novel / comic book. It wasn't funny at the time -- I remember shrieking WTF?? a lot -- but now that we've (I think) survived the worst of it, it's hilarious. Until I realize that this is the *White House* we're talking about. The executive branch of the U.S. government. Reading this now reminds me again of how crucial the 2018 midterms were, and the 2020 presidential election. The 2022 midterms are no less crucial. Thanks for the reminder of just how awful the 45 administration was.
Thank you again, you and yours were Soldiers first and foremost, defending the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I salute you! Major Dennis Palmer, Infantry, US Army, Retired
Thanks for re-sharing this classic, Lucian. Wow. All that craziness was happening five years ago and has only ramped way the hell up since. And forward we march.
Had a buddy, a Marine officer, who was in line for a promotion that would take him to an advanced rank. He told me he did not want it. "From here on it's all politics. I like being a Marine."
The corruption is the point
The grifting is the point
The cruelty is the point
The chaos is the point
The old management aphorism is, "A players hire A players. B players hire B and C players." TFG is not even a B player so what does that say about the people who surround him? I believe the term is kakistocracy, "government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state." No way any general - accustomed to rules, laws, and the chain of command - brings order to that chaos.
Kakistocracy…my new favorite word.
I think this as good as the first time I read it.
I remember your comment, as an embed (or if it wasn't you, maybe Sebastian Junger), that after one of these guys makes full colonel, you can't trust what they say anymore, borne out by experience.
That said, knowing full well what an ignorant blowhard and all-around scumbag Trump is, I was still shocked by the New Yorker article. Kelly saying, You know Hitler's generals tried to kill him, or Milley's resignation letter.
Most curious, to me, is the way Trump and his toadies insist on running these guys down, Mattis, for one, but in fairness, a lot of former military and intelligence people don't care for Milley - they think he's a fat-ass thumbsucker. I do notice that none of them have had the balls to take on Gen. Michael Hayden, who served as both DIRNSA and DCI, and wrote a scathing book about Trump.
In any event, the more dirt that comes out, the better. I don't care how self-interested the source is.
Everyone who is a civilian tends to think of generals as being holier and worthier than all, which in fact is a lie, because as you put it, a lifetime of kissing another fool's ass to rise above that fool tends to make one very stupid and servile in the long run.
Kind of like corporate America-where the top dog is just someone who kissed enough ass and groveled long enough to get to the top. Brains have nothing to do with it-merely the ambition to rise to top does.
In fact, brains are not a prerequisite-they're a disadvantage because you'd quickly realize how fucking stupid wars are but that they're profitable for the military-industrial complex.
No general would dare cross that bunch of people.
The fact that they all have not only not been given a blindfold and a cigarette and a bullet but are still running around free fer chrissakes is a permanent stain on our civilization.
My sentiments exactly, although I might not give them a blindfold.
Lucian, I don’t disagree with anything in your article. I spent six years in the army, but my highest rank was SGT E-5 (1961-1967). More recently, I’ve spent over fifty years as a law professor with very little contact with the military. From everything I’ve read, heard and researched, your grandfather was one of the most honorable and principled men ever to wear stars. I recall, in particular, his 1945 speech in the military cemetery in Belgium, best described by Bill Mauldin. What would General Truscott have thought about all these recent shenanigans?
It was the Anzio cemetery. He is rolling over in his grave.
😣
My head hurts…all of these generals…and none of them working like Hitler’s…preparing to take TFG out!
Misplaced hopes of the generals monitoring Trump's endless excesses and acting to counter it, exactly.
And now we have the deranged GOP Trump cult and its enablers raising funds on the Mar-a-Lago FBI raid, with specious argments, featuring inane threats of somehow investigating Hunter Biden's tax issues as a form of revenge, and a headline on my news feed from the Arizona Republic that exactly reverses the causation:
www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/philboas/2022/08/09/trump-fbi-raid-merrick-garland-could-tear-america-apart/10282662002/
So on this line of bizarre reasoning, it's not Trump and his cult followers, who have spent years and all sorts of energy and propaganda destroying democratic norms, the rule of law, respect for facts that's the problem, and specifically Trump's arguably criminal taking of classified documents, no siree! It's those terrible FBI agents doing their damn job which is the danger!
And it's only August, we have months more of this nonsense to endure before the midterms and likely still more wild claims of election fraud.
I remember reading that great column when you first published it. It echoed my own thoughts about the folly of Trump surrounding himself with generals. I thought that none of them would last very long because they would try to manage Trump and educate him - at least to their military point of view. And that’s pretty much what happened. Trump finally said he knew more than all the generals
never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.-- hanlon's razor.
Very worth reposting and reading.
This would make one helluva sitcom, or a graphic novel / comic book. It wasn't funny at the time -- I remember shrieking WTF?? a lot -- but now that we've (I think) survived the worst of it, it's hilarious. Until I realize that this is the *White House* we're talking about. The executive branch of the U.S. government. Reading this now reminds me again of how crucial the 2018 midterms were, and the 2020 presidential election. The 2022 midterms are no less crucial. Thanks for the reminder of just how awful the 45 administration was.
Thank you again, you and yours were Soldiers first and foremost, defending the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I salute you! Major Dennis Palmer, Infantry, US Army, Retired
Thanks for re-sharing this classic, Lucian. Wow. All that craziness was happening five years ago and has only ramped way the hell up since. And forward we march.
All human enterprise eventually becomes corrupt.
Milley is in CYA mode...
And has been since that travesty of a photo op in front of the Church. The more I read about Milley, the less I respect him.