Retired Army General Eric Shinseki's appointment as Secretary of Veterans Affairs is not only strong on the merits. It is a symbolic message to the Bush administration that you can't just go and ruin people's careers because they told the truth.
Most people deemed "whistleblowers" never thought of themselves that way. They were just doing their jobs. In Shinseki's case, he told Congress that "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be needed in post-war Iraq. That effectively ended his military career.
Never mind that was the first Asian-American four-star general in U.S. history, a Vietnam veteran, and had a stellar track record. He told the Bush administration something it did not want to hear and got crucified for it. I can identify.
Homer J. had a diary yesterday on Eric Shinseki yesterday, http://www.dailykos.com/..., but I want to address a different aspect of this amazing man's story: being an accidental whistleblower.
Shinseki is the first Asian-American four-star general in U.S. history. He is the first Asian-American to lead one of the five U.S. military services. He is a Vietnam veteran. He is also one of the many casualties of the Bush administration whose career was ended for speaking truth to power.
Shinseki clashed with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the planning of the war in Iraq over how many troops the U.S. would need to keep in Iraq for the post-war occupation. As Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Shinseki testified to the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee that
something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers
would probably be required for post-war Iraq, which was an estimate far higher than the figure being proposed by Rumsfeld in his invasion plan (or lack therof). Shinseki's estimate was strenuously rejected in strong language by both Rumsfeld and his Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz.
That was the end of Shinseki's military career.
Over time, it has become almost universally accepted in U.S. political circles that Shinseki was correct. His pick as secretary of Veterans Affairs is not only great on the merits. It is a symbolic one-fingered salute to the Bush administration for killing the careers of all those who told them what they did not want to hear. Thanks, President-elect Obama, for righting a wrong.