Who the Hell Do They Think They Are?
American Greatness,
by
Angelo Codevilla
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
10/20/2019 1:36:27 PM
Retired Admiral William McRaven devoted the bulk of a New York Times op-ed to appropriating for himself the moral and hence political authority of generations of soldiers and sailors (pointedly, especially the female ones) who have sacrificed for America, for “the good and the right.” Then he gratuitously stated—citing no specifics, as if everyone already knows—that “President Trump seems to believe that all these qualities are unimportant or show weakness.”
McRaven concludes, “it is time for a new person in the Oval Office—Republican, Democrat or independent—the sooner, the better.” At the very least, McRaven called for impeachment ahead of an election, or perhaps for a coup, and pretended to do so
Reply 1 - Posted by:
MFM 10/20/2019 1:39:02 PM (No. 212708)
Treason, now Court Martial, cut that POS off the pension.
33 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
earlybird 10/20/2019 1:40:30 PM (No. 212709)
This is a doozy. Should be everyone’s must read. We honor our military. Some of those up near the top do not always merit that honor. Codevilla puts McRaven firmly and irrevocably in that category. And doesn’t mince words about it. This is an essay for which “scathing” is an understatement. Read it...
27 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
valinva 10/20/2019 2:05:18 PM (No. 212724)
This same admiral publicly criticized the President for stripping his friend Brennan of his security clearance back in 2018. He also admires Obama. Nuff said.
35 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
curious1 10/20/2019 2:05:43 PM (No. 212725)
McRaven, just like any other retired officer receiving retirement pay, is subject to the UCMJ.
He ought to consider that before he opens his mouth.
Definitely not squared away.
28 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
GO3 10/20/2019 2:12:03 PM (No. 212728)
Excellent! Codevilla echos what many of us here have said before. Bottomline: victory is a dirty word. Nations building, counter-insurgency, the courage of restraint, etc. are all forms of military malpractice. IMO, this started on a small scale with generals complaining about Bush'43 and Iraq. Bush, Rumsfeld, et al had their faults, but the complainers also happened to be those who were unable or unwilling to accomplish the tasks given to them. It's one thing to make a flawed decision to go to war, quite another to make repeated bad decisions on the battlefield and pass the buck up to the President. As with the (hopefully) coming reckoning of the IC, it's possible Trump will be exposing the flags' malfeasance.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
earlybird 10/20/2019 2:29:58 PM (No. 212737)
Furthermore, Vladeck said in an interview with Military.com, there are articles in the UCMJ that could place many military retirees at risk for arrest, and the U.S. Supreme Court has an interest in weighing in on how cases involving retirees are handled.
He cited one provision in the UCMJ that makes "contemptuous words" used by a commissioned officer "against the president, the vice president, Congress" and others as punishable by court-martial.
"From Adm. Bill McRaven to Gen. Michael Hayden and Gen. Martin Dempsey, some of President Donald Trump's more visible critics of late have been retired military officers. And a provision of federal law ... makes it a crime, triable by court-martial," he wrote in a blog post on Lawfare. "But does the Constitution really allow the government to subject to military trial those who have retired from active duty -- in some cases, long ago -- even for offenses committed while they are retired?"
Yes, it does, according to the Supreme Court, in its denial of Larrabee's and Dinger's writs of certiorari.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/02/22/supreme-court-retirees-can-be-court-martialed-crimes-committed-after-service.html
5 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Hermit_Crab 10/20/2019 2:30:36 PM (No. 212738)
Any of these Perfumed Princes of the Pentagon who received their last promotion or promotions under 0bama are suspect. Active or retired. 0bama pretty much only allowed promotions of anyone above one star to those who were globalist - socialist homo-tranny loving, muslim tolerant politicians... They may have been true patriot warriors in the past, but he perverted them into a bunch of "Wormtongues' (from Lord of the Rings).
Also be suspicious of any 'butchy' Command Sergeants Major...0bama made a lot of them too
19 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 10/20/2019 2:45:44 PM (No. 212744)
McRaven believes he is one of the chosen ones, the intelligentsia, the smarter people who have as their upper class "burden" the job to keep all us poor stupid, toothless, unwashed, uneducated morons; us 'despicables' and Bible clutchers from harming THEIR country by our stupidity and inability to grasp how inferior we are and superior they are.
He is a dangerous man. If these traitors manage to start a civil war, his type need to go first.
I am starting to understand the French and their choice of sending "all of them" to the guillotine more and more every year.
11 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
JL80863 10/20/2019 3:02:00 PM (No. 212751)
McRaven is the naval version of Wesley flipping Clarke
17 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 10/20/2019 3:14:08 PM (No. 212755)
Yet another elitist snob that has no regard or tolerance for any differing opinions. These people have been 'running' the country for decades, have caused much harm, but show no willingness to change. Is it any surprise they have left the country 20 trillion in debt, lost millions of jobs, weakened our country, and emboldened our enemies?
12 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
bighambone 10/20/2019 3:33:55 PM (No. 212764)
This retired swabby is completely out of line as far as the traditions of the military go. He and other high ranking military officers who earn their livings within the military industrial complex want to stay involved in the endless Middle East and other wars, so that they can gather up more stars, and after they retire from active service get some cushy job with a corporation that supplies their branch of service with weapons. But the vast majority of the American people do not want their sons and daughters in the military sent abroad to be killed, severely wounded, or blown up, because two or more Islamic factions have not got along for a thousand years, for reasons that have nothing to do with US national security, and those Americans elected President Trump to be the Commander in Chief.
As to the argument that if the USA does not fight the Islamist terrorists all over the Islamist world that those terrorists will come to the USA again and plan and carry out more 9/11 type terrorist attacks. The 9/11 terrorists only got into the USA because US Government incompetence allowed them to enter the country and then to stay until they planned and carried out their 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans. We still see that incompetence today with the DC UniParty in Congress more interested in securing the Syrian-Turkish Border, that is half way around the world, while exhibiting no interest in securing the Mexico-US Border, the Democrats because they are opposed to everything that President Trump does, and want to create as many foreign born socialist future voters as possible by way of a massive amnesty program, and the wimpy Republicans because they are beholden to their financial benefactors, the globalist business class that wants to maintain a free flow of illegal cheap foreign labor into the USA. In that respect, if the DC UniParty would instead go along with President Trump and the US Border Patrol, and fund the building of an effective borderline barrier in the areas where the Border Patrol says such a modern barrier is needed to stop the flow of illegal aliens, including a lot of foreign criminals, and very dangerous illicit drugs, that are killing thousands of Americans each year, along with passing and enforcing competent and effective immigration laws, Foreign Islamist terrorists would not be able to get into the USA, not alone stay here illegally and plan and carry out large scale 9/11 style terror attacks.
13 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Gruntmedic 10/20/2019 4:16:41 PM (No. 212777)
What is he talking about,our President wants to save our troops out dumb fights.
Is this guy one of Barry's perfumed prince's?
5 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
fhancock 10/20/2019 6:08:17 PM (No. 212849)
McCraven thinks his Shiff doesn't stink...Just because you made Flag Ofiicer doesn't make you my spokesman...if you can't see that we are in the middle of a coup then you are either an idiot or a bought for showtime Navy Benedict Arnold
8 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
slsusnr 10/20/2019 6:46:52 PM (No. 212889)
At one time, I respected this guy. Not anymore. Retired military officers should keep their opinions private, not public. Including me. We can vote. Scott L. Smith, CDR, USN (retired)
6 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Italiano 10/20/2019 7:19:28 PM (No. 212902)
They shot Pvt. Slovik for less.
6 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 10/20/2019 8:22:59 PM (No. 212939)
We have civilian control of the military in the U.S.
The President, as Commander-In Chief, is not obligated to accept military advice.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
DVC 10/20/2019 11:44:51 PM (No. 213067)
McRaven wears the Bronze Star....so I looked at his ribbons in Wikipedia, not always perfectly reliable.
According to Wikipedia, he has "Bronze Star with gold award star". In the USN, the 'award star' means multiple Bronze Stars awarded. Sound impressive, right? Beware.
But NO "V" device on either of his "multiple" Bronze Stars. The "V" device, in the USN denotes 'combat heroism'. Without the "V" device, McRaven must have earned his Bronze Star for "meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.". So, our hero did a great job of filing reports while in a combat zone, multiple times. Big whoop.
Without the "V" device, a Bronze Star, IMO, is pretty much BS. My USMC nephew was KIA earning his Bronze Star, with "V" device, in Afghanistan, and I resent folks wearing it who did not earn the "V", because it is widely assumed by civilians that it is a medal awarded for valor in combat, when that is not necessarily the case. Awarding Bronze Stars for 'meritorious service' is for weenies looking to impress people. I put McRaven in that class. A legitimate award, but misleading, IMO.
And McRaven was tossed out of SEAL Team 6 by CDR Richard Marcinko (legendary SEAL), yet was rolled back as leader of the team later by someone else.
And now he thinks he is way smarter than all of us poor despicables.
4 people like this.
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