How Do They Do It

What has surprised me over the last six years is how Bush and his team have been able to, or at least had some success, at discrediting so many military leaders and troops. Whether it be the generals that have spoken up recently about Rumsfeld or General Shinseki early in the war about number of troops or the troops returning home from Iraq, they have tried to discredit them all.

They tried to make Colin Powell look like he had no clue about Iraq. Silly of us to think that the Sec of State or former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff would know anything about war and diplomacy. Not to mention how they made Kerry and McCain look like traders and enemies to America while making Bush and Cheney, who skipped out on National Guard duties and received deferment after deferment respectively, look like Rambo or Jack Bauer.

Today Colin Powell in an interview made mention of some of the same concerns others have made about Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.

(AP/Seattle Times)"I made the case to Gen. Franks and Secretary Rumsfeld before the president that I was not sure we had enough troops," Powell told Britain's ITV television, according to a transcript released by the network. "The case was made, it was listened to, it was considered. ... A judgment was made by those responsible that the troop strength was adequate."

"The president's military advisers felt that the size of the force was adequate; they may still feel that years later. Some of us don't, I don't," Powell said. "In my perspective, I would have preferred more troops, but you know, this conflict is not over."

"At the time the president was listening to those who were supposed to be providing him with military advice," Powell said. "They were anticipating a different kind of immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad, it turned out to be not exactly as they had anticipated."

If we are going to continue to have civilian control over our military, which I believe we should, then they should listen more to the advice of the "Military" leaders rather than people from the Project For The New American Century. But that wouldn't fit into their "plan(pdf)" on how to control the world.

Then you add the x factor of financial gain with this Administration, or at least the perception, and you also run into problems. With companies like Haliburton and The Carlyle Group closely tied to government officials, one would have to question motivation at times. When the value of national security gain is overshadowed by the value of monetary gain, we blur the line between a capitalistic democracy and a fascist dictatorship.

So how do they do it? How do they make REAL military people look DUMB while making DUMB people look REAL?

Think Progress has the video