Why does General Myers hate the troops so much?
by digby
Duh. I really don't think even the delicate flowers of the US Special Forces would have their feelings hurt if they found out that one of the thousands of Islamic extremists they are fighting in the world turns out to be someone that was once in American custody.
This idea is so daft it makes me crazy. These people aren't masterminds with supernatural powers. They are just humans with a cause. There are thousands of them and they are interchangeable. The idea that there is some finite number and once we kill or capture every last one we can declare victory is ridiculous. In the case of Guantanamo it's been demonstrated over and over again to be a recruiting tool of immense value to the terrorists. Therefore, it serves the opposite purpose of what these fatuous politicians say it serves --- it makes more terrorists, not less!
I don't know if these people still believe that the Gitmo prisoners were "the worst of the worst" but they weren't. The ones who have been released are anything but. And if some of them go back to wherever and join the fight again, it's no different than if some new guy joins the fight. In fact, they're less effective --- they're at least 10 years older.
I find it awfully depressing that we're having these discussions again. Nothing is more frustrating, not even the idiotic fights with the Tea Party. There is something very dysfunctional in the American body politic when it comes to national security and when it's decided that we're on a military roll (as the massive box office of "American Sniper" and the media obsession with lurid snuff films suggests we are) it gets stupid really quickly and then takes years to climb down again.
These comments from Senator Ayotte are exhibit I. I'm glad General Myers had the sense to correct her, but it won't matter. I'm just surprised she didn't ask him why he hates the troops.
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