Generals & Presidents

Discussion in 'Politics & Government' started by Ken Anderson, Dec 24, 2018.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    Ever since Trump took office, the opposition, including the media and those within or without the Republican Party, have done their best to make an issue of it every time he has disagreed with one of his generals or, more often, when a general, retired or otherwise, had seen fit to disagree with him publicly, the idea being that he has to be an idiot, or worse, to disagree with a general.

    First, under pretty much any other Administration, an active-duty general who saw fit to disagree with the President publicly would have been out of a job the next day. The outrage should be, not over what they have said, but the fact that they would criticize their commander-in-chief publicly.

    Secondly, one of the strengths of our system of government is that we are not ruled by the military, unlike the governments of some other countries. While former military people are perfectly free to run for political office, and often see an advantage in their military background, the country is not run by generals.

    Generals have an entirely different perspective than civilians, and there is both good and bad in that. Generals are not necessarily in the best position to make the kinds of decisions that presidents have to make. That doesn't mean that they are incapable of it, but their concerns are with the military, and with the needs of the military.

    Generals are more likely to favor military expansions, whether they are needed or not, and they are less likely to want to curtail military operations, whether they are in the best interests of the country or not. We currently have a military presence in nearly every country in the world and, while that might make sense to a general, it doesn't necessarily make sense to those who look beyond an ever expansion of the military.

    Before leaving office, President Eisenhower warned us of the military-industrial complex. A former general, he had also had experience as a president.

    I've got to go, but I'll add more to this later. In short, it is not wrong for a president to disregard the advice of his generals. Except for the fact that they need Trump to fail, many of those who seemingly fear the end of the world because we're bringing a couple of thousand troops home from Syria would be in favor of it if Obama had done it.

    Most of this is simply political posturing and rhetoric. If Trump does it, it's wrong, no matter what it is.
     
    #1
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2018
  2. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    Ken, I agree with you about 100%! The most important fact is that there is no respect shown for President Trump even though one day (if I'm blessed to live that long) I think President Trump will be one of our greatest Presidents. Not for his "foot in mouth" disease that goes in and out of remission...but for the fact that like our Fore Fathers Donald Trump loves America and Americans....and he actually wants to do everything he can to undo the destruction many of our former Presidents have brought to our Country and is making progress in this area too.

    Even the fact that so often I hear the news media and others not even referring to President Trump as our President but instead just referring to him as Trump...makes me want to "flog" all of them that do this.

    Our President has the right to replace anyone he feels is not doing his job, is not working with him to better America, is not only his enemy but America's too...and he also has the right to happily let those who won't see things his way resign and replace them with those who will work with him for the vision he has for America and Americans.

    Our President is far from perfect...but he is for America and for Americans....and not for himself and the "powers that be behind the scenes" who do not care what is best for us or America. We needed President Trump and my prayer is that he wins the next election too.
     
    #2
  3. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,629
    When it comes to doing what he promised to do militarily, the President did. He said he wanted to get rid of ISIS and he was going to let the military do what it is supposed to do. He gave a free hand to General Mattis and to my knowledge, the President didn’t try to micro manage the general’s initiatives.

    Now, what the good general doesn’t seem to comprehend is it’s the job of the president to point where the wars are that the generals are supposed to fight. That’s the big mistake that General MacArthur made. He was going to go across the 38th parallel whether the president liked it or not. Granted, maybe the U.S. should have accomplished what the good general wished to do but that isn’t the point. It wasn’t his job.
    Presidents pick the wars, generals pick the battles.
     
    #3
    Jack Knight and Frank Sanoica like this.
  4. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2015
    Messages:
    6,504
    Likes Received:
    6,751
    All could be a big game if they wanted General Mattis to be a judge on a military tribunal it might look bad if he is a friend of Trump but if he and Trump are fighting than they have no grievance. Only time will tell.
     
    #4
    Yvonne Smith and Frank Sanoica like this.
  5. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    And unfortunately some Generals are in it for the fame and the money....

    Another place our Government needs to look into for money waste is our Military...and I'm not talking about what we pay our Soldiers.
     
    #5
  6. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,629
    The major waste in the terms of military spending is when we exit a war, the amount of equipment and material left behind is horrendous. I have no doubt that the cost of the stuff we have left behind since Vietnam has lost us trillions of dollars.

    One of the other losses we endure is that the military will order new parts instead of fixing or cleaning the old ones. There is nothing about the military that is inexpensive. A military approved common hammer will cost much more just because it’s approved for military use. So,when we think about things that are a bit more technical than a common hammer, the price tag goes up even though it might be the same product that is used by civilians and costs less when a civilian buys it.
     
    #6
    Frank Sanoica likes this.
  7. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2016
    Messages:
    8,565
    Likes Received:
    12,083
    I'm sure that's the excuse the medical profession uses to for everything costing more in the medical field...but I still remember when I read an article years ago that a screw for a toilet cost the armed services $24,000.00...the same screw I could buy for a couple of dollars for the same kind of toilet that a civilian used. No one is blaming our Servicemen or women for the what the government is allowing to spend on normal things...but it is happening and the ones to blame are the ones who are in charge...not the ones taking orders from the ones in charge.
     
    #7
    Bobby Cole likes this.
  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    The generals give advice and carry out orders, but they should not assume that they will be able to assume the responsibilities of the president. The same is true of others. Of course, the media want us to believe that pretty much anyone is better suited to run the country than the president so whenever he disregards someone's advice and they go running to the media, we're supposed to believe that Trump is wrong.
     
    #8
    Bobby Cole and Frank Sanoica like this.
  9. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    Here's a good opinion piece from the Washington Times.

     
    #9
  10. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Ken Anderson "we're supposed to believe that Trump is wrong."
    Question in my mind is, how many Americans see through, and will continue to see through, this massive smoke-screen of belittling the President? It was often said that the public memory is very short politically; they will eventually believe what they are told if it's repeated long enough.
    Frank
     
    #10

Share This Page