Opposing retired Generals and Admirals of the Iran Deal join others with blood on their hands.

To say that I was disappointed to hear that any Marine Corp retired general and Navy Admiral signed onto a letter opposing and even supporting the Iran Nuclear Deal would be an understatement.  I am disappointed because I thought expected more.  I expected more because an enlisted man is supposed to be able to trust that they would set the example and have all of their ducks in a row before voicing any opinion whether in public or private. I am dismayed because it appears that none of them has ever really sat down and read the agreement.  I am dismayed because it appears that many of those with whom we are supposed to see as experts in their field, has decided to base their support or opposition purely on what they heard or was led to believe was in it.  These are the same group of parties that many families trusted with the health and welfare of their children and if this is an example of how they reached decisions about anything having to do with our military, no wonder we all knew that the true heroes was not those sitting in those back offices but those brave men and women on that front line.

The article that took away any sunshine I had left about those we called our commanders is titled “Retired generals and admirals urge Congress to reject Iran nuclear deal” written by Carol Morello for the Associated Press but posted by the Washington Post.  The article reports “A group of nearly 200 retired generals and admirals sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday urging lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear agreement, which they say threatens national security.  “The agreement will enable Iran to become far more dangerous, render the Mideast still more unstable and introduce new threats to American interests as well as our allies,” the letter states.  Many of the signatories served in the White House, under Democratic administrations as well as Republican. The only thing they appear to have in common is that they consider the Iran nuclear deal a threat to U.S. interests in the region and its own national security. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, who was vice commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, said he considers the agreement the most dangerous nuclear accord in U.S. history.  “What I don’t like about this is, the number one leading radical Islamic group in the world is the Iranians,” he said. “They are purveyors of radical Islam throughout the region and throughout the world. And we are going to enable them to get nuclear weapons. Why would we do that?” 

If the letter was agreement was actually read, many may see that this does not lift anything until Iran has met the necessary requirements for lifting of the sanctions at each step.  It also allows inspections to help insure that they are proceeding as agreed and it does not just blindly trust as it is depicted but the most important and often overlooked part is it reduces the stress level of all of our military members al little to know that another Middle East War is not just around the bend.

Now while we all know that these retired generals and admirals will never be those on any front line so keeping the stress level high on our military may not be in their best interest but the most disturbing thing is some of the names of those signing this particular letter.  I first call your attention to what is mentioned in this article about “retired Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, who was deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence under President George W. Bush and is now executive vice president of the Family Research Council.”  We know that the Family Resource Center has always had their agenda and now this “officer and gentleman” is being paid to carry their water.  The next two are “retired Vice Adm. John Poindexter and retired Maj. Gen. Richard Secord, who were involved in the Iran-contra affair in the Reagan administration, in which arms were sold to Iran to fund the contras in Nicaragua.”  Now, unless I am mistaken many of the weapons used against our fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan had USA markings and originated through the Iran-Contra Scandal.  It’s kinda like expecting a wealthy person to understand the plight and struggles of a poor person.  You may have been poor in the past but that past is so far removed, a wealthy person just can’t recall the difficulties a poor person feels.

I think that before anyone places any stock in the words of politicians, pundits, commentators and even retired generals and admirals, they demand that they read the agreement first because many a wars have been started because of a misunderstanding and failure of either side to quietly and maturely listen to the other.  Enough saber-rattling, it’s time for us to grow up.