The hysterics of neoconservative senators has become a cacophony that's pretty similar to a room full of children. It's a series of tantrums that clearly shows they are losing, badly.
Senator Lindsey Graham says the Obama administration should "reconsider" the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense.
Senator Ted Cruz, who already put out edited clips of Hagel in an effort to falsely smear him, now says he needs to see the text of certain paid speeches Hagel gave, even though Hagel has explained that he did not speak from prepared notes at those speeches. Senators Jeff Sessions and James Inhofe lamely float the idea of a filibuster, even though all indications are that they don't have the 60 votes for one.
And Senator John McCain uses his time in a hearing with General Martin Dempsey to berate him for not indiscriminately bombing Libya in the hours after the attacks in Beghazi. This is the same General Dempsey I served under in the 1st Armored Division, who keeps index cards with the names, pictures, and biographies of the fallen who served under him, and chooses a dozen to carry with him, every day.
To charge that Gen. Dempsey doesn't take the deaths of Americans seriously is pure ridiculousness. He doesn't just take it seriously, he takes it personally. I wonder how many 3x5 cards with names on them John McCain carried, as a result of his steadfast support of war in Iraq and a surge in Iraq? And how many hearings did John McCain hold every time we lost four men and women in Iraq? Did he grill generals as to why we didn't deploy all of our firepower in the region when Americans were killed there?
Why are the neocons doing all of this? Why are they acting so unhinged? For McCain, he still cannot stand the fact that Americans have been rejecting his neocon policies since he lost the presidency in 2008. And, for him and the rest of the Senators, it has become clear to them that the majority of the Senate is ready to approve the nomination of Chuck Hagel; that a supermajority has no appetite for a filibuster of the nomination.
Therefore, Chuck Hagel will become our next Secretary of Defense, and accelerate the end of the neoconservative military policy that these senators hold so dear. To them, their world of shoot-first-aim-later military policy is crumbling around them.
Launching a war with Iran, with no plan for success, before trying every other measure? Not going to happen. Just dumping weaponry in the middle of Syria, without any regard for where those weapons will end up -- maybe even in the hands of the same Sunni extremists who were in Iraq, and could return there, better armed and ready to topple the Iraqi Army we built? Nope. Putting American troops in the middle of it? Uh, no. Searching the map for any other regimes we don't like, and ginning up military action against them based on flimsy and/or false intelligence? Not anymore.
That's why these senators are tossing out every last ridiculous rejection and smear that they can.
This is what it looks like when desperate senators know their neoconservative worldview is about to be wholly rejected. This is what it looks like when United States senators have a temper tantrum. Frankly, it's sad and pathetic.
You would think that senators who are so gung-ho for war at every turn would show a little more toughness, and suck up the fact that the American people no longer want to do things their way. But, like a little kid who can't fight the fact that it's bedtime, these senators are screaming, kicking, and holding their breath, in vain.
And, just like in real life, in these arguments -- whether it is Chuck Hagel taking control at the Pentagon, or a dramatic shift in how we use our military -- the grown-ups always eventually win.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: Jon Soltz
Senator Lindsey Graham says the Obama administration should "reconsider" the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense.
Senator Ted Cruz, who already put out edited clips of Hagel in an effort to falsely smear him, now says he needs to see the text of certain paid speeches Hagel gave, even though Hagel has explained that he did not speak from prepared notes at those speeches. Senators Jeff Sessions and James Inhofe lamely float the idea of a filibuster, even though all indications are that they don't have the 60 votes for one.
And Senator John McCain uses his time in a hearing with General Martin Dempsey to berate him for not indiscriminately bombing Libya in the hours after the attacks in Beghazi. This is the same General Dempsey I served under in the 1st Armored Division, who keeps index cards with the names, pictures, and biographies of the fallen who served under him, and chooses a dozen to carry with him, every day.
To charge that Gen. Dempsey doesn't take the deaths of Americans seriously is pure ridiculousness. He doesn't just take it seriously, he takes it personally. I wonder how many 3x5 cards with names on them John McCain carried, as a result of his steadfast support of war in Iraq and a surge in Iraq? And how many hearings did John McCain hold every time we lost four men and women in Iraq? Did he grill generals as to why we didn't deploy all of our firepower in the region when Americans were killed there?
Why are the neocons doing all of this? Why are they acting so unhinged? For McCain, he still cannot stand the fact that Americans have been rejecting his neocon policies since he lost the presidency in 2008. And, for him and the rest of the Senators, it has become clear to them that the majority of the Senate is ready to approve the nomination of Chuck Hagel; that a supermajority has no appetite for a filibuster of the nomination.
Therefore, Chuck Hagel will become our next Secretary of Defense, and accelerate the end of the neoconservative military policy that these senators hold so dear. To them, their world of shoot-first-aim-later military policy is crumbling around them.
Launching a war with Iran, with no plan for success, before trying every other measure? Not going to happen. Just dumping weaponry in the middle of Syria, without any regard for where those weapons will end up -- maybe even in the hands of the same Sunni extremists who were in Iraq, and could return there, better armed and ready to topple the Iraqi Army we built? Nope. Putting American troops in the middle of it? Uh, no. Searching the map for any other regimes we don't like, and ginning up military action against them based on flimsy and/or false intelligence? Not anymore.
That's why these senators are tossing out every last ridiculous rejection and smear that they can.
This is what it looks like when desperate senators know their neoconservative worldview is about to be wholly rejected. This is what it looks like when United States senators have a temper tantrum. Frankly, it's sad and pathetic.
You would think that senators who are so gung-ho for war at every turn would show a little more toughness, and suck up the fact that the American people no longer want to do things their way. But, like a little kid who can't fight the fact that it's bedtime, these senators are screaming, kicking, and holding their breath, in vain.
And, just like in real life, in these arguments -- whether it is Chuck Hagel taking control at the Pentagon, or a dramatic shift in how we use our military -- the grown-ups always eventually win.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: Jon Soltz
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