Thursday, April 12, 2007

An *Outing* at the Pentagon

It isn’t often that my husband finishes whatever he is reading and casts a smug look my way and says something like “Gates is steppin’ all over his dick on this one.” And launches into what passes for a tirade in the most reflective, responsible person on the entire face of the earth. (This is the guy you want in a missile silo, okay? I mean, if they are going to be out there, this is the guy you trust with that duty. When he rants, people listen.)

Call him the anti aWol.

He gets no jollies from the misfortune of others, as a general rule. But he really loathes George Bush, as only a veteran can. While aWol was AWOL, he was holding a draft card and dreading trips to the mailbox. While aWol was drunk in a gutter, he was an enlisted Airman with a heavy-duty AFSC. While aWol was running his first oil company into the ground, he was bootstrapping an engineering degree. While aWol was cutting a swath of fecklessness across Texas, he was restoring the integrity of the officer corps and rebuilding a military decimated by lies and politics during the Vietnam era. While aWol was stumbling through life, he was stitching back together the tattered remnants of the Honor Code. (I also have a brother who fits that description, except for the draft-card bit. When I say I see things differently, that view isn’t from the belfry.)

I listened when he pointed out days ago that there was an extension coming, and that Gates was going to get caught with his pants down on this matter. When aWol threatened that tours might have to be extended if the funding battle drags on, he looked at me and said “Gates just got fucked. Extensions are already a done deal. Watch this unfold. Gates may be losing his touch. But look for him to try to frame Inman anyway.” When the insider Contra-gate jokes come out, he's overdosing on Schadenfreude...

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates complained bitterly today that "some very thoughtless person" at the Pentagon leaked word about duty extensions for Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates said that the leak robbed the Army "the opportunity to notify unit commanders who could then talk to their troops 48 hours before we made a public announcement."

We all know that they would have liked to keep that ace in the hole for the funding battle, but it didn’t work out that way.

So plan B…Take advantage of the Friday News Dump, like they did last week with the redeployment of the Guardsmen. But that didn’t work out so swell, either. The push-back is well underway, it would seem.

If I were a betting woman, I would put my money on that leak coming from a low-level Captain at the Pentagon who has done a tour. Or a civilian with some skin in the game.

Here is the deal – most of the people at the Pentagon are non-partisan professionals. They are just people, doing their jobs and collecting their pay. Lots of folks who do 20 or more rotate through the Pentagon, and there are tons of civilians who work there. Most of the people who work there are civilians, in fact. So stop being afeared of the Pentagon. It isn’t some magical, mystical, evil place. It’s a big building with an interesting geometric shape, and it happens to be the headquarters for the nation’s defense services. It has an aura that isn’t really deserved. And it smells funny - or at least it did when I was a kid.

For every “famous” person who has an office in the Pentagon, there are, at minimum, a couple of thousand who are actually making things work and who never hold a presser. Those folks are going to be there after this criminal crew is banished to the cruel, fickle hands of history. They see the devastation this petulant, brain-damaged president and his craven, capitulating minions, have wrought, and they are quietly pushing back against the tide of mendacity.

And you know what? Evil doesn’t win when good people do something.

So step up. Take stock of your abilities, and then do something.

Lot's of contact information, readily available on your left.

UPDATE: If it turns out that it was Senior Brass who leaked, I will owe Larry Johnson a beer. The email exchange has been archived for future examination by relevant congressional committees.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post. Amen, sistah!