Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

You are here: Home / Books / Open Thread: “Breach of Trust”

Open Thread: “Breach of Trust”

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Rachel Maddow recently wrote a book review for the NYTimes:

… America is, truly, exceptional in the scale of our military commitments; it is the defining context of our role among nations. In his abrasive, heartbreaking new book, “Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country,” Andrew J. Bacevich starts from the assumption that our modern militarism is unsustainable and unwise. He then proceeds to assign blame, mercilessly: to the public (for our consumerist apathy); to the Pentagon (for its “generals who had slept undisturbed back when Warsaw Pact commanders had ostensibly been planning to launch World War III” but who “now fretted nervously over the prospect of their budget taking a hit”); to the contractors (whose profiteering steals honor from the soldiers they serve alongside); and, naturally, to the politicians. Even Fenway Park and the Red Sox come in for blame, for the staging of a sailor’s homecoming at a July 4 game that left Bacevich all but retching over the “convenient mechanism for voiding obligation, . . . a made-to-order opportunity for conscience-easing.”

Bacevich saves particular vitriol for pro-war writers of both the right and left: Christopher Hitchens, the Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen and the New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier all get filleted and neatly stacked in the corner, to make room for the unleashing of all hell on David Brooks for his commentary before, during and after the Iraq war — followed by what Bacevich sees as an unconscionable repeat of the same mistakes in the late phases of the war in Afghanistan. Bacevich’s scorching litany of what he sums up as “grotesque and contemptible irresponsibility” is a bracing indictment of my profession, and how no one suffers consequences for even the most humiliating failures in prediction and analysis, as long as those failures favor the use of military force. (I should mention here that Bacevich blurbed my own book, “Drift.”)…

Now Salon has (as Billmon expressed it) “picked the lowest-hanging fruit” with an excerpt where Bacevich explains that “David Brooks Is Constantly Wrong“:

A military composed of warrior-professionals suits the agenda of hawkish conservatives at least as well as hawkish liberals. For those who dream of liberating the oppressed abroad and reversing the corrupting tide of liberalism at home here is an instrument ideally suited to making those dreams come true. Not persuaded? Consider the views of the noted conservative commentator and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Back in early 2003, eager to have the United States invade Iraq, Brooks mocked those expressing reservations or reluctance…

On April 28, 2003, beating President Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech by three days, Brooks declared that “the war in Iraq is over.” The political and cultural implications of victory promised to be profound. A collaboration between policy makers in Washington and troops on the battlefield had removed any last doubts as to American global dominion. Brooks sang the praises of “a ruling establishment that can conduct wars with incredible competence and skill.” The United States, he enthused, was an “incredibly effective colossus that can drop bombs onto pinpoints, [and] destroy enemies that aren’t even aware they are under attack.”…

Reader Interactions

72Comments

  1. 1.

    Violet

    Since this is an open thread, if someone sees Mary G can they please let her know I’m more or less okay. I saw she asked about me a few weeks ago. And thank you, Mary G for checking on me. Hope you and HBM are doing well.

  2. 2.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    Thank you for the new thread Anne Laurie. All the ones I’ve participated in today seem to be disintegrating faster than usual, despite my best efforts to keep them civil.

  6. 6.

    ? Martin

    A collaboration between policy makers in Washington and troops on the battlefield had removed any last doubts as to American global dominion. Brooks sang the praises of “a ruling establishment that can conduct wars with incredible competence and skill.” The United States, he enthused, was an “incredibly effective colossus that can drop bombs onto pinpoints, [and] destroy enemies that aren’t even aware they are under attack.”…

    Well, he’s completely correct on that. We have unmatched ability to kill people when we decide to do so. However it all goes to shit when we decide to keep people alive. The hard part comes when we stop dropping ordinance. No big government contracts in doing that.

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    The United States, he enthused, was an “incredibly effective colossus that can drop bombs onto pinpoints, [and] destroy enemies that aren’t even aware they are under attack.”…

    Yeah, because unsuspecting people are so much harder to kill than ones who are ready for your attack. What a moran.

  15. 15.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    @eemom:

    I don’t like to complain, but confrontation was a bit spotty on the football thread.

    I believe you may be letting your intense hatred of Corner Stone overwhelm a fair reading of the situation. I did in fact confront him thoroughly and without exception.

  16. 16.

    Ash Can

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader:

    All the ones I’ve participated in today seem to be disintegrating faster than usual, despite my best efforts to keep them civil.

    But you look so cute with spitballs stuck to your face and library paste splattered all over your jacket.

  23. 23.

    ? Martin

    @Belafon: True, but if you look at, well, construction – we put a lot of energy into making building better/faster/cheaper. Demo hasn’t changed much: big hammer/big lever – because it was already easy.

    Blowing up other people *was* hard before we got into space but we’re still spending like it’s hard. We’re doing it backward.

  25. 25.

    Mary G

    @Violet: So glad to hear it! My mom took a different antibiotic and went completely gaga, going from sharp as a tack to severe Alzheimer’s in one day until they took her off it. I was afraid the same thing had happened to you.

    HBM is still here and doing better every day. He has potted plants in huge numbers, fixed all my computers, gotten the garage cleanup more than half done, made all the meals, and paid for the food, so I am in tall cotton. He has also taken apart an electric wheelchair I got on Craigslist and is threatening to jazz it up so I can go onto the beach and do wheelies.

    We have a couple of photos planned if we get around to it.

  27. 27.

    WereBear

    I gotta stick up a big for “the American public” because it’s not like people aren’t outraged.

    You don’t spell out IMPEACH on a California beach with human bodies if you aren’t outraged. You don’t donate and work hard to get our first African American President if you aren’t upset about business as usual. The overwhelming majority of the public wants more sensible restraints on gun access, but it doesn’t matter.

    Our levers of power have mostly been broken; deliberately, to keep us from making the changes we want. We are in the process of forging new ones, but in the meantime, I see a lot of unhappiness with the crap that is being pulled.

    They are just uncertain who to blame (while I’m not!) and how to change it.

  28. 28.

    gussie

    @Citizen_X: So modern militarism is unsustainable and unwise and everyone is to blame except soldiers?

    Even the title is odd: how Americans failed their soldiers, as if ‘American’ and ‘soldier’ are separate categories. I haven’t read the book, but Maddow says it ‘dismantles the warrior myth we civilians and politicians so enjoy worshiping from afar, and replaces that idol with flesh and blood, vulnerable humans, who deserve better than the profligate, wasteful way in which we treat them.’ But is it dismantling the myth if (big fucking if, without having read the book) it elevates them to the status of sacred victims instead of flawed actors, like the rest of us? I buy into the myth more than I like to admit, but a book all about how ‘we’ failed ‘them’ sets all kinds of alarm bells ringing. It strikes me as myth-making more than myth-dismantling.

  29. 29.

    gogol's wife

    @BGinCHI:

    Okay, I had to look into this. Here’s the story I found:

    According to the investigation that has begun, on the Day of the City holiday, the male victim was returning home late at night and decided to buy beer. He stopped at a small kiosk on Kazakh Street. While in line the victim got into conversation with a young man on a subject that was strange for such a situation. “They began to argue about the work and merits of Immanuel Kant,” the police learned. “A violent argument turned into fisticuffs.”

    Trying to prove that he was a great fan of the famous wise man, the instigator of the fight got out of his pocket a trauma pistol and shot his opponent several times.

    The suspect disappeared from the scene of the incident but was soon caught by employees of Police Department No. 6 in the First of May district of Rostov-on-the-Don.

  30. 30.

    rikyrah

    if you’re interested

    TV Alert

    Tonight is the premiere of Sleepy Hollow on Fox.

    9pm EST

    The female lead is Nicole Beharie, who played Rachel Robinson in 42.

    Plot:

    Tom Mison stars as Ichabod Crane in this modern-day retelling
    of Washington Irving’s classic short story, from Fringe’s Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Frozen in time for 250 years, Crane awakes to partner up with Sleepy Hollow’s sheriff Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) to solve the mysteries of a town ravaged by evil forces, including Death, aka the Headless Horseman, who’s also found his way to the present.

    I don’t like horror usually, but I’ve always liked the story of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

  32. 32.

    Chris

    @lamh36:

    Indian woman mistaken for Arab. Huh.

    This has always been at the top of my list of arguments against profiling. Even if you assume that it was somehow useful or morally justifiable to single out Arabs or Muslims for special attention at airports and other checkpoints, the fact remains that people who are racist enough to support racial profiling are generally too ignorant and/or stupid to be able to do it correctly.

  33. 33.

    ? Martin

    @gussie:

    But is it dismantling the myth if (big fucking if, without having read the book) it elevates them to the status of sacred victims instead of flawed actors, like the rest of us?

    Where is all of the control here? The military enlisted aren’t large enough to drive a national attitude. They aren’t large enough to effect an electoral outcome. In fact, they aren’t even as willing participants as you suggest given that they are non-representative of the nation – the military is a guaranteed employer. And among the enlisted, their ability to influence policy is extremely limited.

    So, what real power do they have to change?

    Now, you’re declaring exclusivity where none is intended. When they talk about the legislative and electoral influence from the public, that includes the military in the role of voter (when then are allowed to vote). But that’s not an important distinction because even if you remove the military influence *as voters* the outcome would be exactly the same. The voting public is still responsible. The officers are responsible for shaping policy and decisions within the military and for how they influence legislators directly. Our elected officials are responsible for how they set policy. The DOD and the President and rest of the executive branch is responsible for how they implement that policy.

    The group with the least ability to influence the outcome are the military enlisted.

  36. 36.

    Violet

    @Mary G: The antibiotic was rough, but things got better the second week. I’ve been really, really busy and out of town a lot too. I really appreciate you asking after me. It was rough for me for awhile and it was nice to know someone noticed my absence.

    I have such admiration for you for reaching out to HBM, and for him for taking your outstretched hand. I love hearing how things are going. Glad he’s getting things into such good order. You two seem like a great team. Would love to see any pictures you care to post.

  38. 38.

    Violet

    @Anya: @Elizabelle: Thank you both. I haven’t posted here in about a month for a variety of reasons, as I posted above to Mary G. Didn’t know if anyone noticed or cared, so thank you. Nice to be missed.

  39. 39.

    J R in WV

    I missed you too, Violet. Take care, and stay calm. Stress is a killer, and calm is the only cure!

    Keep us posted on your progress.

  43. 43.

    gene108

    Medical type question:

    I got pink-eye over the weekend. My PCP prescribed anti-biotic drops, but the infection is probably viral, as well as having a slight bacterial infection.

    My question is how contagious is pink-eye?

    I’ve heard people say it is super contagious, while the CDC website maintains that spreading it can be contained by not touching the infected eye(s) and washing hands thoroughly and regularly.

    I’m curious if anyone else has had this and what they can share with me.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    @gene108:

    IIRC, it’s super contagious because people always forget they have it, touch their eye without thinking about it, and don’t wash their hands. If you’re disciplined, you may be able to avoid spreading it, but you’ll be amazed at how many times a day you were rubbing/touching your eyes without realizing it.

  48. 48.

    Violet

    @gene108: In my experience it’s super contagious. If you live in the same house as other people, they may already be infected. If they aren’t yet showing symptoms, then swab down anything they and you might touch, like fridge handles, TV remote, doorknobs, etc. and make sure you use separate towels (change them out now to be sure) and wash your hands regularly. You might dry them on paper towels to be sure you don’t cross-infect. Keeping hand sanitizer around helps you disinfect your hands often and has the added benefit of smelling so if you bring your hand up to your face, the scent might remind you not to touch your eyes.

    @Mnemosyne: Congrats on your blog. Sounds very interesting. I’m really busy so distraction isn’t my problem, but I’ll check it out.

  49. 49.

    gene108

    @Chris:

    Indian woman mistaken for Arab. Huh.

    This has always been at the top of my list of arguments against profiling. Even if you assume that it was somehow useful or morally justifiable to single out Arabs or Muslims for special attention at airports and other checkpoints, the fact remains that people who are racist enough to support racial profiling are generally too ignorant and/or stupid to be able to do it correctly.

    The flip side to this argument is that the Asian Subcontinent – India, Bangladesh and Pakistan – are home to more Muslims than anywhere else on Earth. Indonesia has more Muslim’s than any single country, but if you add up the three main countries of the Asian Subcontinent their total of Muslims surpasses Indonesia.

    In short, most Muslims are Asian, but outside of some Pakistanis, few Asians are terrorists.

  51. 51.

    gene108

    @Mnemosyne:

    I posted a comment, but using BJ name wasn’t an option. I thought my Google account was similar, but it just assigned me a number. I”m not sure why.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    @gene108:

    Weird! I’ll check my settings and see if I did something funny to it. At least the mystery is cleared up! And I did answer your question, if you hadn’t gotten a chance to check back.

  54. 54.

    sm*t cl*de

    pro-war writers of both the right and left: Christopher Hitchens, the Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen and the New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier

    I’m missing some part of this both-sides narrative. Where are the pro-war writers of the left?

  55. 55.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    Leon penatta on 60 minutes sounded just like Dick Cheney. It was unwatchable.

  59. 59.

    lamh36

    @Mnemosyne: I’ve heard alot of buzz about this one to.

    I love him. Kinky Boots is one of my fav movies.

    I’m not sure if I’ll see 12 Years A Slave in the theatres, but it’s def one I”d save for a movie night at home.

    Slave dramas and the like really upsets my equilibrium. I usually like to see a movie in the theatres with the audience, but anything like that I don’t enjoy seeing in theatres. I just always feels weird.

  61. 61.

    Turgidson

    @sm*t cl*de:

    A few “even the liberal ______” types, but not many prominent real, actual liberals. Josh Marshall, Ezra, Chait, and Yglesias come closest to being real liberals. But at the time, no one gave a shit about them.

    oh who am I kidding, no one gives a shit about them now, either. Except maybe Ezra, because he’s willing to go the Broderism route.

  62. 62.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lamh36:

    IANAGD (Graphic Designer) but I love the visual of BB88. Someone with talent and training could make a nice visual of that.

  64. 64.

    Anoniminous

    @lamh36:

    Ref: Slave dramas

    Williamsburg Virginia had to stop their re-enactments of slave auctions because white people got upset.

    Go figure.

  65. 65.

    Citizen_X

    @rikyrah: It’s well done; I recommend it. Saw it on the plane the other day. General creepy atmosphere, Revolutionary-War action scenes, two hot leads–what’s not to like?

    ETA: I loved the Johnny Depp Sleepy Hollow too.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Yeah, it’s not exactly going to be a fun night at the movies. But it sounds like they’re going to be able to get some real history in there since it’s based on a famous slave narrative.

    Did Tarantino manage to open this door with Django Unchained and help convince the studios that movies about slavery can also make money at the box office? If he did, he should be proud of himself.

  69. 69.

    Mike in NC

    Looking forward to reading the Bacevich takedown of BoBo. Unlike the neocons and their enablers, he lost a son in Iraq.

  70. 70.

    Mike G

    “They began to argue about the work and merits of Immanuel Kant,”

    The South’s low incidence of philosopher-related violent crime is truly proof of American Exceptionalism.

  72. 72.

    mikeyes

    @? Martin: I don’t think it is the numbers of enlisted that have influence as much as their families who would like to see them not die in a futile effort promulgated by old men in Congress (or the President for that matter.)
    We have a professional active military these days but we also have about half of the soldiers in danger who are either NG or Reserve and their families are more likely to protest as time goes on. NG and Reserve soldiers tend to be older with spouses and children in addition to their own birth families. That can add up to a lot of voters.

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