Ralph Peters: General failure

I’m pretty certain Jim featured LtCol Ralph Peters (ret.) on the big radio show yesterday, and since the LT has an opinion piece out in the New York Post last night, I figured we could follow up the interview with a link to his piece.

From the NY Post.

This is personal. My two decades in the US Army were the centerpiece of my life. Ibelieve in the ethics professed by the officer corps. Yet, I recognize that we mortals are imperfect (I certainly am) and the human heart is the ultimate IED. So while I’m disappointed that Gen. David Petraeus fell for Miss Fatal Attraction 2012, what makes me really angry is his hypocrisy. …

The scathing post continues, read the entire thing…

The general held himself up as a paragon of self-discipline and model family man. In Iraq and then Afghanistan, he rigorously enforced “General Order No. 1,” which prohibits our troops from fraternization, all sex, alcohol consumption, the possession of pornography and, generally, from any activity that might make the boredom and terror of this kind of war more bearable. When our troops screwed up, they got hammered.

Generals can take a weekend in Paris and get drunk (as Gen. Stanley McChrystal did), but the grunt who goofs in a firefight faces a court-martial.

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

11 Comments

  1. JBS on November 15, 2012 at 7:45 am

    As a veteran, I have no sympathy for the General. He chose the military as a? profession. If he wanted to be a stud muffin, get out of the service and go, play. It is called “service” for a reason.
    A court martial would be appropriate given the nature of his dereliction of duty and his repeated exposure of sensitive materials.
    Blindfold . . .? cigarette . . . drum roll . . .



    • ricbee on November 17, 2012 at 12:11 am

      Gimmie a break,Bogie….



  2. Dimsdale on November 15, 2012 at 1:54 pm

    Is it just me, or has ?bama fired an inordinate number of generals since he ascended to the throne?
    ?
    Just wondering how that fits in with his and other liberal’s “love” of the military…



    • PatRiot on November 15, 2012 at 6:41 pm

      If they deserve it, then they gots to go.?
      However, it may give the “O” man the crisis he needs to say the military is broken and and that we need a non-military?government official to fix it.?????



  3. yeah on November 15, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    Are we gonna court marshall Obama and Holder right next to him?? Let’s get the gas can, sounds like a good time!



  4. Lynn on November 15, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    I greatly admired General Petraeus, but I did not know of ?General Order Number 1! I agree with ?General Peters. How could he demand so much of his troops ( and for what reason, other than to make them more miserable) and then fall so short himself. What is this unholy elitism? General Petraeus should suffer the punishment of any other employee of the CIA or if he was involved in the affair, while ?he was still in the service, suffer that punishment. But first, he needs to tell the truth about Benghazi. Sorry, but he lied before. It is the least he could do for those brave men who lost their lives unnecessarily. ?We deserve to know that our CIA knows what is going on in these dangerous countries. He is an example of the Peter Principle in more ways then one.



    • Dimsdale on November 15, 2012 at 5:36 pm

      I think “affirmative” action seriously mutates the Peter Principle….



  5. PatRiot on November 15, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    This is where the left gets caught in?conflicts of their own making.? A President is the Commander-in-Chief of the military. And has to set the example for his troops as well as the country.? Former Pres. Clinton had some extra marital issues as we recall.? And he refused to do the right thing and step down.? Even though?he included?Lewinsky in conversations she should not have been privy to.
    Such is the conflicting, waffling positions that the Dems take.?Still not taking responsibility for their actions or the responsible tone they should set for the power they weild.? Ground hog day.
    Patreaus (Gen. and Repub) screwed up, admittted it and did the right thing in stepping?down.? Made the mistake, won’t make it again, reset or raise the bar, next…?



  6. lpalshaw on November 16, 2012 at 8:39 pm

    Scott Peters’ observation mirrors the comments made by the Air Force general who just submitted her report on the sex scandal at Lackland AFB. She comments on the lack of integrity at the top of the chain of command.?



  7. ricbee on November 17, 2012 at 12:09 am

    When I got court martialed,my CO,a USMA Captain lied & I caught him in it. The CO of my new company was one of the finest men I’ve ever come across,a draftee,2nd Looie from Brooklyn. There’s all kinds but today’s Army is not like the one with the spirited draftees I served with. It’s just a job & after you get confirmed by Congress,it’s a political job.



  8. JBS on November 18, 2012 at 10:21 am

    Re: draftees. I was a US (draftee). Most of us did what was asked and learned quickly to never volunteer. There was a certain gritty vibrancy from the “Unwilling Servants;” the lifers hated us. No matter what they did, we would be civilians in two years — civilians are never trusted. Officers who hadn’t been to Viet Nam despised not being in combat, to punch their ticket. West Pointers, ring knockers, looked down on everyone. Leaning hard on the enlisted was considered good discipline. Having a few scalps always looks good on an officer’s service record when it came time for promotion.



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