Feeling Confident About Our National Security?
Everywhere you turn, there is speculation about Four-Star General David Petraeus. He once held the lofty positions of Commander of U.S. and Nato Forces in Afghanistan, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. His outstanding career in the Army spanned 37 years; he graduated in the top 5% of his class at the U.S. Military Academy. His professional reputation was stellar. It is now characterized by shame and disgrace.
Will we ever know the truth? Each day, some nefarious new personality pops into the picture, and the story becomes more lascivious and ludicrous. Lustful emails abound between the General, his biographer, a Florida socialite, an FBI investigator, and now another Four-Star General; this one a Marine. I can't keep all the characters in this escapade straight!
Now before you think I am besmirching the Military or holding them to a different standard than the average citizen, let me set you straight. There is no one who holds the Military in higher regard than I do. I am the daughter of a proud Veteran and I fully recognize the honor, the pride, the commitment and the sacrifice of those who guard our freedoms. They are a different breed and truly exemplify Christ's admonition to put others before ourselves. But it is exactly because of their elevated honor that I hold them to a higher standard. They take an oath to be guardians of the American way of life and all that is good, legal and moral about our country.
Part of General Petraeus's Army Creed is to "live the Army Values", which are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. His crown of accomplishment has become a bit tarnished, and I am sure he is devastated that he has disappointed his family, his country, and most of all, himself.
He is not the first Military man to forsake his vows or let his hormones control his brain. Three thousand years ago, King David became so infatuated with the beautiful Bathsheba, that he had her husband, Uriah, murdered so that he might claim her for his own. There have been a long line of Commanders since, who have succumbed to the wiles of women and abandoned their word of honor. General Petraeus wasn't the first, nor will he be the last.
But if this was only about the low moral character of the man, then it would burn in the imaginations of the public for a moment and then the headlines would fade away, as another salacious news item took its place. No, this scandal cannot be dismissed that easily. General Petraeus is a major player in the outrageous misconduct known as "Benghazi". He is up to his eyeballs in this mess and it is still uncertain how he will play out his role.
There are so many unanswered questions and too much unethical behavior that needs to be explained. Just what did General Petraeus discover during his investigation in Libya? Was he about to reveal who knew what, and when, in regards to the deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Dougherty and Ty Woods? (Yes, I'm sure the MSM and the White House would love for us to forget those names!) What was he planning on revealing to Congress when he testified? How did his biographer, Paula Broadwell, gain the information she divulged regarding interrogation of Libyan militia members? How can the White House continue to maintain there has been no security breach, while they try to convince us they didn't know about this until right before the election? And does the Administration really think they can fool us into believing that they haven't known about this affair until recently, and the timing of all this is merely coincidental? Although he resigned, General Petraeus apparently will still go before Congress to testify --- but behind closed doors and in private committees. Where's the promised transparency?
I'm hopeful that the truth will win the day, but not confident that it is on the agenda. However, there appears to be too much lax and slipshod management of this whole Benghazi/Petraeus mess. Whistleblowers abound and everyone is trying to CYA. Character, virtue and integrity seem to be glaringly absent from this bunch of miscreants. And perhaps that is the saddest aspect of the whole affair. The bravery, courage and sacrifice of our military has been overshadowed by the selfishness, duplicity and immoral actions of their highest leader.
I don't paint the entire military with this brush of iniquity, and I'm sure there will be those who think that we should just brush this off, restore the Army's honor, and move forward. But this runs much deeper than one man's infidelity. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg and the situation and players are rotten to the core. This is just one more example of the decay and decline of our nation.
Isaiah 5:24 "Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel."
Labels: Military, Our Culture., Values
GreenEyedJinn November 15, 2012 at 8:53 AM
One sure thing this whole sordid mess exposes is Washington DC's facination with the Cult of Personality. Once the leader becomes so famous, so influential, so cutting-edge, so brilliant, so so so so...whatever...then normal, intelligent people seem to lay down their judgment and morality to please this false idol.
I have seen it so many times. In many ways, our most recent election is one of its outcomes. How else does a know-nothing, done-nothing (except a bunch of dope and more than a few lines of coke) politician from Chicago end up getting a Nobel Peace Prize with less 3 months in office?
I love a great leader. But even more I love a great follower: somebody who will stand up and say something is wrong with what is happening and why. Petraeus' immediate staff must have included too many thinking their boss could do no wrong and could not question his behavior. So many in the Army loved the General AND his lovely, devoted wife. Where was their loyalty to HER? How did they let this succubus get so close without seeing what was inappropriate? This is the Cult mentality.
Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Dougherty and Ty Woods died in Benghazi because nobody in the State Department or the Department of Defense were willing to disagree with the President's opinion on the status of Al Qaeda and security in Libya. Ambassador Susan Rice gave a deliberate political spin to the Benghazi attack because she was unwilling to question the intelligence information the "White House gave her." (BHO's own words)
I pray that none of the career political officers in the Pentagon or White House Situation Room allow their sense of self-promotion or false-devotion to a "Great Leader" override their true loyalty to their oaths, their comrades in combat zones, or to their country. Surely they must have been in harm's way themselves or have close friends there now. Surely they must know that if an Ambassador and 3 other Americans can be left to die, then any sense of loyalty to just a personality is to their nation's peril.
To be wrong was never against God's laws. To bear false witness always will be.
Belle Ringer November 15, 2012 at 10:09 AM
I was waiting for your comment, and you didn't disappoint! I respect your opinion of the Military ... you have the experience and the "inside track" of all the machinations that go on in the upper echelons of our Armed Forces. My biggest fear is that there is a battle brewing between our Administration and Military leaders and the players are taking their sides. Where does that leave us, the American people? Both the Administration and the Military take oaths to protect this nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic. We are aware of who our foreign enemies are, but who the domestic ones? I feel like we are just pawns on the chess board, and easily sacrificed for power. The problem is that "false witness" has become the norm and no one fears God's judgment. Thank you again for your valuable insight!