George W. Bush's explanation for why he vetoed today's war-funding bill:
The bill is unacceptable because it "subtitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgments of our military commanders," the president said in a nationally televised address to explain why he was vetoing a bill that would also provide $100 billion in emergency spending for the war.
I can think of no better source for a rebuttal than an actual military commander.
Retired General Paul D. Eaton issued one today at votevets.org:
May 1, 2007
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Today, in your veto message regarding the bipartisan legislation just passed on Operation Iraqi Freedom, you asserted that you so decided because you listen to your commanders on the ground.
Respectfully, as your former commander on the ground, your administration did not listen to our best advice. In fact, a number of my fellow Generals were forced out of their jobs, because they did not tell you what you wanted to hear -- most notably General Eric Shinseki, whose foresight regarding troop levels was advice you rejected, at our troops' peril.
The legislation you vetoed today represented a course of action that is long overdue. This war can no longer be won by the military alone. We must bring to bear the entire array of national power - military, diplomatic and economic. The situation demands a surge in diplomacy, and pressure on the Iraqi government to fix its internal affairs. Further, the Army and Marine Corps are on the verge of breaking - or have been broken already - by the length and intensity of this war. This tempo is not sustainable - and you have failed to grow the ground forces to meet national security needs. We must begin the process of bringing troops home, and repairing and growing our military, if we are ever to have a combat-ready force for the long war on terror ahead of us.
The bill you rejected today sets benchmarks for success that the Iraqis would have to meet, and puts us on a course to redeploy our troops. It stresses the need for sending troops into battle only when they are rested, trained and equipped. In my view, and in the view of many others in the military that I know, that is the best course of action for our security.
As someone who served this nation for decades, I have the utmost respect for the office you hold. However, as a man of conscience, I could not sit idly by as you told the American people today that your veto was based on the recommendations of military men. Your administration ignored the advice of our military's finest minds before, and I see no evidence that you are listening to them now.
I urge you to reconsider your position, and work with Congress to pass a bill that achieves the goals laid out above.
Respectfully,
Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA, Retired
I am not a military commander, so I will let his words speak for themselves.
You may have noticed, by the way, that I cited the Bush story from MSNBC and not, say, CNN. The reason is that I have made a conscious decision to pare CNN from my regular sources of news after being rather surprised this morning by CNN Headline News' promotion of Glenn Beck's "Exposed: Climate of Fear", which airs Wednesday, and which tries to cast doubt on anthropogenic global warming. Talk about not listening to the generals. In case you've forgotten, the following organizations have officially concurred with the IPCC that global warming is real and is primarily caused by man:
-- The National Science Academies of the G8 nations
-- U.S. National Research Council
-- American Meterological Society
-- American Geophysical Union
-- American Institute of Physics
-- American Astronomical Society
-- Federal Climate Change Science Program
-- American Association for the Advancement of Science
-- Geological Society of London
-- Geological Society of America
-- American Chemical Society
-- American Quaternary Association
In other words, anybody who's anybody. If Beck is CNN's idea of "news" or "balance", I'll pass.
UPDATE: Ick. There's an ad for this program right here. Hate to diss the sponsors, but...