Apparently, the political class is so worried about the military — be it their knee-jerk assumption they’re all mentally damaged (see just about any Hollywood movie about war, soldiers, etc.) or their fear that maybe, just maybe, they take that oath to defend the Constitution “from enemies foreign and domestic” a bit too seriously (which explains why veterans are always in the Homeland Security briefs as people of interest.) During a visit to Afghanistan in the wake of the murder fo 16 Afghani by a soldier who apparently had had enough of the place and its people, Leon Panetta’s people demanded the Marines disarm for his address.
Now considering his plane had been attacked by an Afghan that set himself and his vehicle on fire, you would think he would want all the firepower possible around him. The general in charge describes this as not a big deal, as “You’ve got one of the most important people in the world in the room…”
My response is immediate: 1) No, Panetta is not one of the most important men in the world. Not even close. If anything happened to him, we’d find another barely competent politician to replace him. Politicians, especially in a republic, are instantly replaceable. 2) It shows a lack of respect and trust in the men and women serving to ask them to disarm in a war zone so said useless crapsack can feel “safe.” 3) It says to me the idiots like Lindsay Graham might want to watch their desire to ignore a “war weary people” — a lot of them are the people you need to fight your desire for endless bloodshed, Senator.
