From Newsgroup: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy

NY Times,
By David French

Opinion Columnist

ItAs an iconic image of the war on terrorism.

A single grainy figure, bathed in the green light of night-vision
goggles, steps toward the back of an Air Force transport u the last
American soldier to leave Afghanistan, one minute before President Joe
BidenAs Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.

That soldier was Gen. Christopher Donahue, then the commander of the
ArmyAs 82nd Airborne Division. He and his men had been deployed to
Kabul on an emergency basis to protect Americans and their allies
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He is also the latest casualty of Pete HegsethAs purge of senior
leaders.

Donahue arrived in Afghanistan in the chaotic final days of the war,
after the Afghan government fell. Encountering nearly complete chaos,
he aggressively brought a degree of order.

He told military officials who investigated the withdrawal that he was
blunt with the Taliban. oWe told them that we would control the gates
and they would push people out,o Donahue said. oWe expressed that they
will comply, because if they fight us on this, we would be able to
kill more of them than they would ever hope to kill of us. After that
their tone changed.o

The evacuation from Afghanistan was an immense tragedy. While Donahue
was there, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and about 170
Afghan civilians at the Abbey Gate. (Despite what you might hear, the
gate was outside DonahueAs area of responsibility at the time of the
bombing.) Thousands of American allies, including people whoAd risked
their lives serving alongside American troops, were left behind, and
the Afghan people were plunged back into the oppression of Taliban
rule.

That photograph, in which the commander is the last person to leave,
like a captain who is the last to abandon a sinking ship, elevated
DonahueAs profile, but it might have made him a target for those who
wanted someone held accountable for the defeat in Afghanistan. As a
senator in 2024, Markwayne Mullin, now the secretary of homeland
security, briefly held up DonahueAs nomination to lead Army forces in
Europe for this reason.

Donahue, however, was the wrong person to scapegoat. HeAd earned
praise and respect from Republicans and Democrats for his conduct
during the retreat.

Beyond his service in Kabul, Donahue had a sparkling rosumo. HeAd
commanded Delta Force, arguably the most elite branch of the ArmyAs
Special Forces, and was instrumental in the fight to destroy the ISIS
caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He also helped Ukraine plan its 2022 counteroffensive against Russia. But almost every senior general has a glittering rosumo. The reactions to DonahueAs departure make clear
that he wasnAt just accomplished; he was deeply respected and admired.

Writing in The Atlantic, Adm. William McRaven, the former commander of
the Joint Special Operations Command, who directed the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden, said that Donahue is oone of the most
brilliant officers I knowo and that ohe has the respect of every man
and woman who ever served with him.o

Gen. Mark Hertling, one of my commanders in Iraq during the surge,
wrote in The Bulwark that Donahue ois not simply another general
officer,o and he used the same word as McRaven: orespect.o Donahue had
oearned the trust and respect of soldiers.o

Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House, told The Washington
Examiner that DonahueAs departure was ounfortunate.o

oI have mad respect for that guy,o McCormick said. oI donAt know the
details, so IAm not going to continue to talk about it, because I
donAt know. I donAt know him personally, but I have mad respect for
the guy. HeAs earned that. Great leader.o

But there was one other part of DonahueAs rosumo u something that
would raise the hackles of an administration that believes itAs
purging the woke corruption of the Biden military. In 2023 he
contradicted Republican claims that wokeness had overtaken the
military. He told an interviewer, oWeAre focused on people, war
fighting and making sure that weAre prepared for the next fight. There
ainAt no awokeA here.o

We donAt know precisely why Donahue is leaving. A technical
explanation is that his command in Europe was downsizing to a
three-star position and he, as a four-star general, had nowhere else
to go. The problem, as The Washington Post reported, was that Hegseth ostonewalledo efforts to keep him. The message was clear: Hegseth
wanted him gone.

Donahue is the latest in a long line of generals and admirals the
Trump administration has removed, without explanation and without any
evidence of misconduct. Some were obvious political targets, and the
list is heavily weighted toward women and minorities.

President Trump, for example, fired Gen. Charles Brown Jr, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the second Black officer to
hold that post) after Hegseth accused Brown of u you guessed it u
being too owoke.o

DonahueAs departure, however, seems to have touched a particular
nerve, and I think I know why. ItAs a matter of both timing and
principle.

Donahue is leaving just as the impact of TrumpAs corruption and
HegsethAs partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the
American people, in matters both large and small. In scandal after
scandal, incident after incident, the same message is sent: The
morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under
siege.

Trump launched a war without public support, prosecuted it
sporadically and incompetently and seems to be on the verge of handing
Iran a strategic victory.

Even worse, it seems with every passing week weAre learning that the
war was less one-sided than we were told. Last Thursday, The Wall
Street Journal reported that there was extensive damage to an
important American naval base in Bahrain, far more damage than the administration had said.

According to the Journal, the administration asked commercial
satellite companies to limit access to imagery of the damaged bases.
And it still hasnAt disclosed to Congress the total cost of the
damage. In other words, while we inflicted enormous damage on Iran,
the public still doesnAt know how much damage Iran inflicted on us.

A flu outbreak is less consequential than a war, but itAs symbolic
nonetheless. In April, Hegseth made the vaccine optional for all
units. The results were entirely predictable. After 275 people at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas fell ill with the flu, the Pentagon
reinstated mandatory flu vaccines.

ItAs hard to imagine any Pentagon leader scorning vaccines after
experiencing the incredibly close quarters of military life. In the
absence of robust public health measures, a military base can be a
breeding ground for infectious disease.

And we cannot forget the ongoing war, also undeclared, against people
suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Increasingly, the
evidence seems to point to American strikes costing innocent lives.

The man tasked to lead the American military u to advance its mission
and its values u is putting considerable moral pressure on the United
States military.

And we canAt forget that if there were any justice or real
accountability, he wouldnAt be in the job. When he shared sensitive
information about upcoming American military strikes against the
Houthis in 2025, he not only risked the lives of American service
members; he committed an act that would have destroyed the career of
virtually any uniformed member of the military. Nevertheless, he
survived.

It might seem basic to say this, but when Hegseth began his term as
secretary of defense, he inherited a military that had already been
shaped and formed by generations of training and moral formation. Even
a person as powerful as a secretary of defense canAt transform an
institutionAs DNA overnight.

Think of the military as a big ship controlled by a small rudder. The
ship responds to the rudder, but not immediately and not obviously.
But given even a moderate amount of time, the direction of the turn is
clear.

And that brings us to the principle of the matter. The
administrationAs treatment of Donahue removes any remaining doubt that
in HegsethAs version of a meritocracy, there is no level of excellence
that can trump politics.

It is difficult to overstate how much that principle will cripple a
military in a democracy. If the Trump administration is now punishing
generals for following the orders of his predecessor (by, for example, executing orders to withdraw from Afghanistan or to place a greater
emphasis on diversity in the ranks), regardless of the quality of
their performance, over time youAll create an atmosphere of
institutional fear that can u and probably will u yield paralysis or
serial cronyism.

Worst of all, politicizing the military will break its bond with the
American people. The military is one of the last remaining
institutions in the United States still holding on to the publicAs
respect, in part because of its commitment to professional excellence
but also because it is seen as apolitical and fair. ItAs arguably the
most successful institution in American life that truly models the
immense diversity of American life.

It isnAt a Praetorian Guard for the president and his party. ItAs a
citizen army that draws its members from across the whole of society.

The Trump administration owes the military and the public an
explanation for its treatment of Donahue u and an explanation for its
treatment of other senior officers it has fired or forced out. As
commander in chief, the president has the right to fire an officer,
but as a servant of the people, the president has a duty to tell us
why.

In the meantime, Americans are right to be alarmed. A failed war. A
purge of officers. Potential war crimes. Each of these things should
be a stark warning that the Trump administration is in the process of
breaking one of AmericaAs most vital institutions.

That institution can hold. As IAve seen firsthand, itAs not perfect,
but its commitment to integrity runs deep. It cannot hold forever,
however. In a previous column, I referred to an old remark about the
allied armies in World War I. They were olions led by donkeys.o The
ordinary soldierAs extraordinary courage was squandered through futile
tactics and foolish strategies.

Place the donkeys in charge long enough, and you start to change the
character of the military itself. The donkey in chief is placing the effectiveness, morale and integrity of the American military under
siege, and weAre watching exactly what happens when the lions are
forced to leave.

ItAs not an image I want to see.
--
Noah Sombrero mustachioed villain
Don't get political with me young man
or I'll tie you to a railroad track and
<<<talk>>> to <<<YOOooooo>>>
Who dares to talk to El Sombrero?
dares: Ned
does not dare: Julian shrinks in horror and warns others away

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy

On 6/28/2026 7:11 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

NY Times,
By David French

Opinion Columnist

ItrCOs an iconic image of the war on terrorism.

A single grainy figure, bathed in the green light of night-vision
goggles, steps toward the back of an Air Force transport rCo the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan, one minute before President Joe BidenrCOs Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.

That soldier was Gen. Christopher Donahue, then the commander of the
ArmyrCOs 82nd Airborne Division. He and his men had been deployed to
Kabul on an emergency basis to protect Americans and their allies
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He is also the latest casualty of Pete HegsethrCOs purge of senior
leaders.

Donahue arrived in Afghanistan in the chaotic final days of the war,
after the Afghan government fell. Encountering nearly complete chaos,
he aggressively brought a degree of order.

He told military officials who investigated the withdrawal that he was
blunt with the Taliban. rCLWe told them that we would control the gates
and they would push people out,rCY Donahue said. rCLWe expressed that they will comply, because if they fight us on this, we would be able to
kill more of them than they would ever hope to kill of us. After that
their tone changed.rCY

The evacuation from Afghanistan was an immense tragedy. While Donahue
was there, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and about 170
Afghan civilians at the Abbey Gate. (Despite what you might hear, the
gate was outside DonahuerCOs area of responsibility at the time of the bombing.) Thousands of American allies, including people whorCOd risked
their lives serving alongside American troops, were left behind, and
the Afghan people were plunged back into the oppression of Taliban
rule.

That photograph, in which the commander is the last person to leave,
like a captain who is the last to abandon a sinking ship, elevated DonahuerCOs profile, but it might have made him a target for those who
wanted someone held accountable for the defeat in Afghanistan. As a
senator in 2024, Markwayne Mullin, now the secretary of homeland
security, briefly held up DonahuerCOs nomination to lead Army forces in Europe for this reason.

Donahue, however, was the wrong person to scapegoat. HerCOd earned
praise and respect from Republicans and Democrats for his conduct
during the retreat.

Beyond his service in Kabul, Donahue had a sparkling r|-sum|-. HerCOd commanded Delta Force, arguably the most elite branch of the ArmyrCOs
Special Forces, and was instrumental in the fight to destroy the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He also helped Ukraine plan its 2022 counteroffensive against Russia. But almost every senior general has a glittering r|-sum|-. The reactions to DonahuerCOs departure make clear
that he wasnrCOt just accomplished; he was deeply respected and admired.

Writing in The Atlantic, Adm. William McRaven, the former commander of
the Joint Special Operations Command, who directed the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden, said that Donahue is rCLone of the most
brilliant officers I knowrCY and that rCLhe has the respect of every man
and woman who ever served with him.rCY

Gen. Mark Hertling, one of my commanders in Iraq during the surge,
wrote in The Bulwark that Donahue rCLis not simply another general officer,rCY and he used the same word as McRaven: rCLrespect.rCY Donahue had rCLearned the trust and respect of soldiers.rCY

Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House, told The Washington Examiner that DonahuerCOs departure was rCLunfortunate.rCY

rCLI have mad respect for that guy,rCY McCormick said. rCLI donrCOt know the details, so IrCOm not going to continue to talk about it, because I
donrCOt know. I donrCOt know him personally, but I have mad respect for
the guy. HerCOs earned that. Great leader.rCY

But there was one other part of DonahuerCOs r|-sum|- rCo something that
would raise the hackles of an administration that believes itrCOs
purging the woke corruption of the Biden military. In 2023 he
contradicted Republican claims that wokeness had overtaken the
military. He told an interviewer, rCLWerCOre focused on people, war
fighting and making sure that werCOre prepared for the next fight. There ainrCOt no rCywokerCO here.rCY

We donrCOt know precisely why Donahue is leaving. A technical
explanation is that his command in Europe was downsizing to a
three-star position and he, as a four-star general, had nowhere else
to go. The problem, as The Washington Post reported, was that Hegseth rCLstonewalledrCY efforts to keep him. The message was clear: Hegseth
wanted him gone.

Donahue is the latest in a long line of generals and admirals the
Trump administration has removed, without explanation and without any evidence of misconduct. Some were obvious political targets, and the
list is heavily weighted toward women and minorities.

President Trump, for example, fired Gen. Charles Brown Jr, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the second Black officer to
hold that post) after Hegseth accused Brown of rCo you guessed it rCo
being too rCLwoke.rCY

DonahuerCOs departure, however, seems to have touched a particular
nerve, and I think I know why. ItrCOs a matter of both timing and
principle.

Donahue is leaving just as the impact of TrumprCOs corruption and
HegsethrCOs partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the
American people, in matters both large and small. In scandal after
scandal, incident after incident, the same message is sent: The
morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under
siege.

Trump launched a war without public support, prosecuted it
sporadically and incompetently and seems to be on the verge of handing
Iran a strategic victory.

Even worse, it seems with every passing week werCOre learning that the
war was less one-sided than we were told. Last Thursday, The Wall
Street Journal reported that there was extensive damage to an
important American naval base in Bahrain, far more damage than the administration had said.

According to the Journal, the administration asked commercial
satellite companies to limit access to imagery of the damaged bases.
And it still hasnrCOt disclosed to Congress the total cost of the
damage. In other words, while we inflicted enormous damage on Iran,
the public still doesnrCOt know how much damage Iran inflicted on us.

A flu outbreak is less consequential than a war, but itrCOs symbolic nonetheless. In April, Hegseth made the vaccine optional for all
units. The results were entirely predictable. After 275 people at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas fell ill with the flu, the Pentagon reinstated mandatory flu vaccines.

ItrCOs hard to imagine any Pentagon leader scorning vaccines after experiencing the incredibly close quarters of military life. In the
absence of robust public health measures, a military base can be a
breeding ground for infectious disease.

And we cannot forget the ongoing war, also undeclared, against people suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Increasingly, the
evidence seems to point to American strikes costing innocent lives.

The man tasked to lead the American military rCo to advance its mission
and its values rCo is putting considerable moral pressure on the United States military.

And we canrCOt forget that if there were any justice or real
accountability, he wouldnrCOt be in the job. When he shared sensitive information about upcoming American military strikes against the
Houthis in 2025, he not only risked the lives of American service
members; he committed an act that would have destroyed the career of virtually any uniformed member of the military. Nevertheless, he
survived.

It might seem basic to say this, but when Hegseth began his term as
secretary of defense, he inherited a military that had already been
shaped and formed by generations of training and moral formation. Even
a person as powerful as a secretary of defense canrCOt transform an institutionrCOs DNA overnight.

Think of the military as a big ship controlled by a small rudder. The
ship responds to the rudder, but not immediately and not obviously.
But given even a moderate amount of time, the direction of the turn is
clear.

And that brings us to the principle of the matter. The
administrationrCOs treatment of Donahue removes any remaining doubt that
in HegsethrCOs version of a meritocracy, there is no level of excellence
that can trump politics.

It is difficult to overstate how much that principle will cripple a
military in a democracy. If the Trump administration is now punishing generals for following the orders of his predecessor (by, for example, executing orders to withdraw from Afghanistan or to place a greater
emphasis on diversity in the ranks), regardless of the quality of
their performance, over time yourCOll create an atmosphere of
institutional fear that can rCo and probably will rCo yield paralysis or serial cronyism.

Worst of all, politicizing the military will break its bond with the
American people. The military is one of the last remaining
institutions in the United States still holding on to the publicrCOs
respect, in part because of its commitment to professional excellence
but also because it is seen as apolitical and fair. ItrCOs arguably the
most successful institution in American life that truly models the
immense diversity of American life.

It isnrCOt a Praetorian Guard for the president and his party. ItrCOs a citizen army that draws its members from across the whole of society.

The Trump administration owes the military and the public an
explanation for its treatment of Donahue rCo and an explanation for its treatment of other senior officers it has fired or forced out. As
commander in chief, the president has the right to fire an officer,
but as a servant of the people, the president has a duty to tell us
why.

In the meantime, Americans are right to be alarmed. A failed war. A
purge of officers. Potential war crimes. Each of these things should
be a stark warning that the Trump administration is in the process of breaking one of AmericarCOs most vital institutions.

That institution can hold. As IrCOve seen firsthand, itrCOs not perfect,
but its commitment to integrity runs deep. It cannot hold forever,
however. In a previous column, I referred to an old remark about the
allied armies in World War I. They were rCLlions led by donkeys.rCY The ordinary soldierrCOs extraordinary courage was squandered through futile tactics and foolish strategies.

Place the donkeys in charge long enough, and you start to change the character of the military itself. The donkey in chief is placing the effectiveness, morale and integrity of the American military under
siege, and werCOre watching exactly what happens when the lions are
forced to leave.

ItrCOs not an image I want to see.

Apparently, the administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have targeted leaders they believe are too focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), seeking to refocus the military purely on combat
readiness. YMMV.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy

On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:53:52 -0700, Dude <punditster@gmail.com> wrote:

On 6/28/2026 7:11 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

NY Times,
By David French

Opinion Columnist

ItAs an iconic image of the war on terrorism.

A single grainy figure, bathed in the green light of night-vision
goggles, steps toward the back of an Air Force transport u the last
American soldier to leave Afghanistan, one minute before President Joe
BidenAs Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.

That soldier was Gen. Christopher Donahue, then the commander of the
ArmyAs 82nd Airborne Division. He and his men had been deployed to
Kabul on an emergency basis to protect Americans and their allies
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He is also the latest casualty of Pete HegsethAs purge of senior
leaders.

Donahue arrived in Afghanistan in the chaotic final days of the war,
after the Afghan government fell. Encountering nearly complete chaos,
he aggressively brought a degree of order.

He told military officials who investigated the withdrawal that he was
blunt with the Taliban. oWe told them that we would control the gates
and they would push people out,o Donahue said. oWe expressed that they
will comply, because if they fight us on this, we would be able to
kill more of them than they would ever hope to kill of us. After that
their tone changed.o

The evacuation from Afghanistan was an immense tragedy. While Donahue
was there, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and about 170
Afghan civilians at the Abbey Gate. (Despite what you might hear, the
gate was outside DonahueAs area of responsibility at the time of the
bombing.) Thousands of American allies, including people whoAd risked
their lives serving alongside American troops, were left behind, and
the Afghan people were plunged back into the oppression of Taliban
rule.

That photograph, in which the commander is the last person to leave,
like a captain who is the last to abandon a sinking ship, elevated
DonahueAs profile, but it might have made him a target for those who
wanted someone held accountable for the defeat in Afghanistan. As a
senator in 2024, Markwayne Mullin, now the secretary of homeland
security, briefly held up DonahueAs nomination to lead Army forces in
Europe for this reason.

Donahue, however, was the wrong person to scapegoat. HeAd earned
praise and respect from Republicans and Democrats for his conduct
during the retreat.

Beyond his service in Kabul, Donahue had a sparkling rosumo. HeAd
commanded Delta Force, arguably the most elite branch of the ArmyAs
Special Forces, and was instrumental in the fight to destroy the ISIS
caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He also helped Ukraine plan its 2022
counteroffensive against Russia. But almost every senior general has a
glittering rosumo. The reactions to DonahueAs departure make clear
that he wasnAt just accomplished; he was deeply respected and admired.

Writing in The Atlantic, Adm. William McRaven, the former commander of
the Joint Special Operations Command, who directed the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden, said that Donahue is oone of the most
brilliant officers I knowo and that ohe has the respect of every man
and woman who ever served with him.o

Gen. Mark Hertling, one of my commanders in Iraq during the surge,
wrote in The Bulwark that Donahue ois not simply another general
officer,o and he used the same word as McRaven: orespect.o Donahue had
oearned the trust and respect of soldiers.o

Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House, told The Washington
Examiner that DonahueAs departure was ounfortunate.o

oI have mad respect for that guy,o McCormick said. oI donAt know the
details, so IAm not going to continue to talk about it, because I
donAt know. I donAt know him personally, but I have mad respect for
the guy. HeAs earned that. Great leader.o

But there was one other part of DonahueAs rosumo u something that
would raise the hackles of an administration that believes itAs
purging the woke corruption of the Biden military. In 2023 he
contradicted Republican claims that wokeness had overtaken the
military. He told an interviewer, oWeAre focused on people, war
fighting and making sure that weAre prepared for the next fight. There
ainAt no awokeA here.o

We donAt know precisely why Donahue is leaving. A technical
explanation is that his command in Europe was downsizing to a
three-star position and he, as a four-star general, had nowhere else
to go. The problem, as The Washington Post reported, was that Hegseth
ostonewalledo efforts to keep him. The message was clear: Hegseth
wanted him gone.

Donahue is the latest in a long line of generals and admirals the
Trump administration has removed, without explanation and without any
evidence of misconduct. Some were obvious political targets, and the
list is heavily weighted toward women and minorities.

President Trump, for example, fired Gen. Charles Brown Jr, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the second Black officer to
hold that post) after Hegseth accused Brown of u you guessed it u
being too owoke.o

DonahueAs departure, however, seems to have touched a particular
nerve, and I think I know why. ItAs a matter of both timing and
principle.

Donahue is leaving just as the impact of TrumpAs corruption and
HegsethAs partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the
American people, in matters both large and small. In scandal after
scandal, incident after incident, the same message is sent: The
morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under
siege.

Trump launched a war without public support, prosecuted it
sporadically and incompetently and seems to be on the verge of handing
Iran a strategic victory.

Even worse, it seems with every passing week weAre learning that the
war was less one-sided than we were told. Last Thursday, The Wall
Street Journal reported that there was extensive damage to an
important American naval base in Bahrain, far more damage than the
administration had said.

According to the Journal, the administration asked commercial
satellite companies to limit access to imagery of the damaged bases.
And it still hasnAt disclosed to Congress the total cost of the
damage. In other words, while we inflicted enormous damage on Iran,
the public still doesnAt know how much damage Iran inflicted on us.

A flu outbreak is less consequential than a war, but itAs symbolic
nonetheless. In April, Hegseth made the vaccine optional for all
units. The results were entirely predictable. After 275 people at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas fell ill with the flu, the Pentagon
reinstated mandatory flu vaccines.

ItAs hard to imagine any Pentagon leader scorning vaccines after
experiencing the incredibly close quarters of military life. In the
absence of robust public health measures, a military base can be a
breeding ground for infectious disease.

And we cannot forget the ongoing war, also undeclared, against people
suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Increasingly, the
evidence seems to point to American strikes costing innocent lives.

The man tasked to lead the American military u to advance its mission
and its values u is putting considerable moral pressure on the United
States military.

And we canAt forget that if there were any justice or real
accountability, he wouldnAt be in the job. When he shared sensitive
information about upcoming American military strikes against the
Houthis in 2025, he not only risked the lives of American service
members; he committed an act that would have destroyed the career of
virtually any uniformed member of the military. Nevertheless, he
survived.

It might seem basic to say this, but when Hegseth began his term as
secretary of defense, he inherited a military that had already been
shaped and formed by generations of training and moral formation. Even
a person as powerful as a secretary of defense canAt transform an
institutionAs DNA overnight.

Think of the military as a big ship controlled by a small rudder. The
ship responds to the rudder, but not immediately and not obviously.
But given even a moderate amount of time, the direction of the turn is
clear.

And that brings us to the principle of the matter. The
administrationAs treatment of Donahue removes any remaining doubt that
in HegsethAs version of a meritocracy, there is no level of excellence
that can trump politics.

It is difficult to overstate how much that principle will cripple a
military in a democracy. If the Trump administration is now punishing
generals for following the orders of his predecessor (by, for example,
executing orders to withdraw from Afghanistan or to place a greater
emphasis on diversity in the ranks), regardless of the quality of
their performance, over time youAll create an atmosphere of
institutional fear that can u and probably will u yield paralysis or
serial cronyism.

Worst of all, politicizing the military will break its bond with the
American people. The military is one of the last remaining
institutions in the United States still holding on to the publicAs
respect, in part because of its commitment to professional excellence
but also because it is seen as apolitical and fair. ItAs arguably the
most successful institution in American life that truly models the
immense diversity of American life.

It isnAt a Praetorian Guard for the president and his party. ItAs a
citizen army that draws its members from across the whole of society.

The Trump administration owes the military and the public an
explanation for its treatment of Donahue u and an explanation for its
treatment of other senior officers it has fired or forced out. As
commander in chief, the president has the right to fire an officer,
but as a servant of the people, the president has a duty to tell us
why.

In the meantime, Americans are right to be alarmed. A failed war. A
purge of officers. Potential war crimes. Each of these things should
be a stark warning that the Trump administration is in the process of
breaking one of AmericaAs most vital institutions.

That institution can hold. As IAve seen firsthand, itAs not perfect,
but its commitment to integrity runs deep. It cannot hold forever,
however. In a previous column, I referred to an old remark about the
allied armies in World War I. They were olions led by donkeys.o The
ordinary soldierAs extraordinary courage was squandered through futile
tactics and foolish strategies.

Place the donkeys in charge long enough, and you start to change the
character of the military itself. The donkey in chief is placing the
effectiveness, morale and integrity of the American military under
siege, and weAre watching exactly what happens when the lions are
forced to leave.

ItAs not an image I want to see.

Apparently, the administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have >targeted leaders they believe are too focused on diversity, equity, and >inclusion (DEI), seeking to refocus the military purely on combat
readiness. YMMV.

izzatzo?
--
Noah Sombrero mustachioed villain
Don't get political with me young man
or I'll tie you to a railroad track and
<<<talk>>> to <<<YOOooooo>>>
Who dares to talk to El Sombrero?
dares: Ned
does not dare: Julian shrinks in horror and warns others away

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy

On 6/29/2026 5:13 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:53:52 -0700, Dude <punditster@gmail.com> wrote:

On 6/28/2026 7:11 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

NY Times,
By David French

Opinion Columnist

ItrCOs an iconic image of the war on terrorism.

A single grainy figure, bathed in the green light of night-vision
goggles, steps toward the back of an Air Force transport rCo the last
American soldier to leave Afghanistan, one minute before President Joe
BidenrCOs Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.

That soldier was Gen. Christopher Donahue, then the commander of the
ArmyrCOs 82nd Airborne Division. He and his men had been deployed to
Kabul on an emergency basis to protect Americans and their allies
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He is also the latest casualty of Pete HegsethrCOs purge of senior
leaders.

Donahue arrived in Afghanistan in the chaotic final days of the war,
after the Afghan government fell. Encountering nearly complete chaos,
he aggressively brought a degree of order.

He told military officials who investigated the withdrawal that he was
blunt with the Taliban. rCLWe told them that we would control the gates
and they would push people out,rCY Donahue said. rCLWe expressed that they >>> will comply, because if they fight us on this, we would be able to
kill more of them than they would ever hope to kill of us. After that
their tone changed.rCY

The evacuation from Afghanistan was an immense tragedy. While Donahue
was there, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and about 170
Afghan civilians at the Abbey Gate. (Despite what you might hear, the
gate was outside DonahuerCOs area of responsibility at the time of the
bombing.) Thousands of American allies, including people whorCOd risked
their lives serving alongside American troops, were left behind, and
the Afghan people were plunged back into the oppression of Taliban
rule.

That photograph, in which the commander is the last person to leave,
like a captain who is the last to abandon a sinking ship, elevated
DonahuerCOs profile, but it might have made him a target for those who
wanted someone held accountable for the defeat in Afghanistan. As a
senator in 2024, Markwayne Mullin, now the secretary of homeland
security, briefly held up DonahuerCOs nomination to lead Army forces in
Europe for this reason.

Donahue, however, was the wrong person to scapegoat. HerCOd earned
praise and respect from Republicans and Democrats for his conduct
during the retreat.

Beyond his service in Kabul, Donahue had a sparkling r|-sum|-. HerCOd
commanded Delta Force, arguably the most elite branch of the ArmyrCOs
Special Forces, and was instrumental in the fight to destroy the ISIS
caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He also helped Ukraine plan its 2022
counteroffensive against Russia. But almost every senior general has a
glittering r|-sum|-. The reactions to DonahuerCOs departure make clear
that he wasnrCOt just accomplished; he was deeply respected and admired. >>>
Writing in The Atlantic, Adm. William McRaven, the former commander of
the Joint Special Operations Command, who directed the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden, said that Donahue is rCLone of the most
brilliant officers I knowrCY and that rCLhe has the respect of every man >>> and woman who ever served with him.rCY

Gen. Mark Hertling, one of my commanders in Iraq during the surge,
wrote in The Bulwark that Donahue rCLis not simply another general
officer,rCY and he used the same word as McRaven: rCLrespect.rCY Donahue had
rCLearned the trust and respect of soldiers.rCY

Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House, told The Washington
Examiner that DonahuerCOs departure was rCLunfortunate.rCY

rCLI have mad respect for that guy,rCY McCormick said. rCLI donrCOt know the
details, so IrCOm not going to continue to talk about it, because I
donrCOt know. I donrCOt know him personally, but I have mad respect for
the guy. HerCOs earned that. Great leader.rCY

But there was one other part of DonahuerCOs r|-sum|- rCo something that
would raise the hackles of an administration that believes itrCOs
purging the woke corruption of the Biden military. In 2023 he
contradicted Republican claims that wokeness had overtaken the
military. He told an interviewer, rCLWerCOre focused on people, war
fighting and making sure that werCOre prepared for the next fight. There >>> ainrCOt no rCywokerCO here.rCY

We donrCOt know precisely why Donahue is leaving. A technical
explanation is that his command in Europe was downsizing to a
three-star position and he, as a four-star general, had nowhere else
to go. The problem, as The Washington Post reported, was that Hegseth
rCLstonewalledrCY efforts to keep him. The message was clear: Hegseth
wanted him gone.

Donahue is the latest in a long line of generals and admirals the
Trump administration has removed, without explanation and without any
evidence of misconduct. Some were obvious political targets, and the
list is heavily weighted toward women and minorities.

President Trump, for example, fired Gen. Charles Brown Jr, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the second Black officer to
hold that post) after Hegseth accused Brown of rCo you guessed it rCo
being too rCLwoke.rCY

DonahuerCOs departure, however, seems to have touched a particular
nerve, and I think I know why. ItrCOs a matter of both timing and
principle.

Donahue is leaving just as the impact of TrumprCOs corruption and
HegsethrCOs partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the
American people, in matters both large and small. In scandal after
scandal, incident after incident, the same message is sent: The
morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under
siege.

Trump launched a war without public support, prosecuted it
sporadically and incompetently and seems to be on the verge of handing
Iran a strategic victory.

Even worse, it seems with every passing week werCOre learning that the
war was less one-sided than we were told. Last Thursday, The Wall
Street Journal reported that there was extensive damage to an
important American naval base in Bahrain, far more damage than the
administration had said.

According to the Journal, the administration asked commercial
satellite companies to limit access to imagery of the damaged bases.
And it still hasnrCOt disclosed to Congress the total cost of the
damage. In other words, while we inflicted enormous damage on Iran,
the public still doesnrCOt know how much damage Iran inflicted on us.

A flu outbreak is less consequential than a war, but itrCOs symbolic
nonetheless. In April, Hegseth made the vaccine optional for all
units. The results were entirely predictable. After 275 people at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas fell ill with the flu, the Pentagon
reinstated mandatory flu vaccines.

ItrCOs hard to imagine any Pentagon leader scorning vaccines after
experiencing the incredibly close quarters of military life. In the
absence of robust public health measures, a military base can be a
breeding ground for infectious disease.

And we cannot forget the ongoing war, also undeclared, against people
suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Increasingly, the
evidence seems to point to American strikes costing innocent lives.

The man tasked to lead the American military rCo to advance its mission
and its values rCo is putting considerable moral pressure on the United
States military.

And we canrCOt forget that if there were any justice or real
accountability, he wouldnrCOt be in the job. When he shared sensitive
information about upcoming American military strikes against the
Houthis in 2025, he not only risked the lives of American service
members; he committed an act that would have destroyed the career of
virtually any uniformed member of the military. Nevertheless, he
survived.

It might seem basic to say this, but when Hegseth began his term as
secretary of defense, he inherited a military that had already been
shaped and formed by generations of training and moral formation. Even
a person as powerful as a secretary of defense canrCOt transform an
institutionrCOs DNA overnight.

Think of the military as a big ship controlled by a small rudder. The
ship responds to the rudder, but not immediately and not obviously.
But given even a moderate amount of time, the direction of the turn is
clear.

And that brings us to the principle of the matter. The
administrationrCOs treatment of Donahue removes any remaining doubt that >>> in HegsethrCOs version of a meritocracy, there is no level of excellence >>> that can trump politics.

It is difficult to overstate how much that principle will cripple a
military in a democracy. If the Trump administration is now punishing
generals for following the orders of his predecessor (by, for example,
executing orders to withdraw from Afghanistan or to place a greater
emphasis on diversity in the ranks), regardless of the quality of
their performance, over time yourCOll create an atmosphere of
institutional fear that can rCo and probably will rCo yield paralysis or >>> serial cronyism.

Worst of all, politicizing the military will break its bond with the
American people. The military is one of the last remaining
institutions in the United States still holding on to the publicrCOs
respect, in part because of its commitment to professional excellence
but also because it is seen as apolitical and fair. ItrCOs arguably the
most successful institution in American life that truly models the
immense diversity of American life.

It isnrCOt a Praetorian Guard for the president and his party. ItrCOs a
citizen army that draws its members from across the whole of society.

The Trump administration owes the military and the public an
explanation for its treatment of Donahue rCo and an explanation for its
treatment of other senior officers it has fired or forced out. As
commander in chief, the president has the right to fire an officer,
but as a servant of the people, the president has a duty to tell us
why.

In the meantime, Americans are right to be alarmed. A failed war. A
purge of officers. Potential war crimes. Each of these things should
be a stark warning that the Trump administration is in the process of
breaking one of AmericarCOs most vital institutions.

That institution can hold. As IrCOve seen firsthand, itrCOs not perfect, >>> but its commitment to integrity runs deep. It cannot hold forever,
however. In a previous column, I referred to an old remark about the
allied armies in World War I. They were rCLlions led by donkeys.rCY The
ordinary soldierrCOs extraordinary courage was squandered through futile >>> tactics and foolish strategies.

Place the donkeys in charge long enough, and you start to change the
character of the military itself. The donkey in chief is placing the
effectiveness, morale and integrity of the American military under
siege, and werCOre watching exactly what happens when the lions are
forced to leave.

ItrCOs not an image I want to see.

Apparently, the administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have
targeted leaders they believe are too focused on diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI), seeking to refocus the military purely on combat
readiness. YMMV.

izzatzo?

Maybe you have not thought this through. Generals donrCOt have lifetime tenure.

For example, in the run-up to World War II, General George Marshall,
chief of staff of the U.S. Army and one of the key architects of victory
in the great struggle to come, methodically purged many of the senior
officers who had led the service during the prewar period.

It was necessary work.

Too old, too political, or otherwise unfit to command in battle, these generals had to go.

Marshall replaced them with much younger, talented men whom he had made
it his business to spot over the years. Dwight Eisenhower, for example,
was a lieutenant colonel (a mid-ranking officer) and still in his 40s
when Hitler invaded Poland.

Within a few short years he would be a five-star general in supreme
command of the Allied forces in Europe.
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.buddha.short.fat.guy

On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:03:50 -0700, Dude <punditster@gmail.com> wrote:

On 6/29/2026 5:13 PM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:53:52 -0700, Dude <punditster@gmail.com> wrote:

On 6/28/2026 7:11 AM, Noah Sombrero wrote:

NY Times,
By David French

Opinion Columnist

ItAs an iconic image of the war on terrorism.

A single grainy figure, bathed in the green light of night-vision
goggles, steps toward the back of an Air Force transport u the last
American soldier to leave Afghanistan, one minute before President Joe >>>> BidenAs Aug. 31, 2021, deadline.

That soldier was Gen. Christopher Donahue, then the commander of the
ArmyAs 82nd Airborne Division. He and his men had been deployed to
Kabul on an emergency basis to protect Americans and their allies
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He is also the latest casualty of Pete HegsethAs purge of senior
leaders.

Donahue arrived in Afghanistan in the chaotic final days of the war,
after the Afghan government fell. Encountering nearly complete chaos,
he aggressively brought a degree of order.

He told military officials who investigated the withdrawal that he was >>>> blunt with the Taliban. oWe told them that we would control the gates
and they would push people out,o Donahue said. oWe expressed that they >>>> will comply, because if they fight us on this, we would be able to
kill more of them than they would ever hope to kill of us. After that
their tone changed.o

The evacuation from Afghanistan was an immense tragedy. While Donahue
was there, a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and about 170
Afghan civilians at the Abbey Gate. (Despite what you might hear, the
gate was outside DonahueAs area of responsibility at the time of the
bombing.) Thousands of American allies, including people whoAd risked
their lives serving alongside American troops, were left behind, and
the Afghan people were plunged back into the oppression of Taliban
rule.

That photograph, in which the commander is the last person to leave,
like a captain who is the last to abandon a sinking ship, elevated
DonahueAs profile, but it might have made him a target for those who
wanted someone held accountable for the defeat in Afghanistan. As a
senator in 2024, Markwayne Mullin, now the secretary of homeland
security, briefly held up DonahueAs nomination to lead Army forces in
Europe for this reason.

Donahue, however, was the wrong person to scapegoat. HeAd earned
praise and respect from Republicans and Democrats for his conduct
during the retreat.

Beyond his service in Kabul, Donahue had a sparkling rosumo. HeAd
commanded Delta Force, arguably the most elite branch of the ArmyAs
Special Forces, and was instrumental in the fight to destroy the ISIS
caliphate in Syria and Iraq. He also helped Ukraine plan its 2022
counteroffensive against Russia. But almost every senior general has a >>>> glittering rosumo. The reactions to DonahueAs departure make clear
that he wasnAt just accomplished; he was deeply respected and admired. >>>>
Writing in The Atlantic, Adm. William McRaven, the former commander of >>>> the Joint Special Operations Command, who directed the raid that
killed Osama bin Laden, said that Donahue is oone of the most
brilliant officers I knowo and that ohe has the respect of every man
and woman who ever served with him.o

Gen. Mark Hertling, one of my commanders in Iraq during the surge,
wrote in The Bulwark that Donahue ois not simply another general
officer,o and he used the same word as McRaven: orespect.o Donahue had >>>> oearned the trust and respect of soldiers.o

Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House, told The Washington
Examiner that DonahueAs departure was ounfortunate.o

oI have mad respect for that guy,o McCormick said. oI donAt know the
details, so IAm not going to continue to talk about it, because I
donAt know. I donAt know him personally, but I have mad respect for
the guy. HeAs earned that. Great leader.o

But there was one other part of DonahueAs rosumo u something that
would raise the hackles of an administration that believes itAs
purging the woke corruption of the Biden military. In 2023 he
contradicted Republican claims that wokeness had overtaken the
military. He told an interviewer, oWeAre focused on people, war
fighting and making sure that weAre prepared for the next fight. There >>>> ainAt no awokeA here.o

We donAt know precisely why Donahue is leaving. A technical
explanation is that his command in Europe was downsizing to a
three-star position and he, as a four-star general, had nowhere else
to go. The problem, as The Washington Post reported, was that Hegseth
ostonewalledo efforts to keep him. The message was clear: Hegseth
wanted him gone.

Donahue is the latest in a long line of generals and admirals the
Trump administration has removed, without explanation and without any
evidence of misconduct. Some were obvious political targets, and the
list is heavily weighted toward women and minorities.

President Trump, for example, fired Gen. Charles Brown Jr, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and the second Black officer to >>>> hold that post) after Hegseth accused Brown of u you guessed it u
being too owoke.o

DonahueAs departure, however, seems to have touched a particular
nerve, and I think I know why. ItAs a matter of both timing and
principle.

Donahue is leaving just as the impact of TrumpAs corruption and
HegsethAs partisanship and incompetence is becoming obvious to the
American people, in matters both large and small. In scandal after
scandal, incident after incident, the same message is sent: The
morale, effectiveness and integrity of the American military are under >>>> siege.

Trump launched a war without public support, prosecuted it
sporadically and incompetently and seems to be on the verge of handing >>>> Iran a strategic victory.

Even worse, it seems with every passing week weAre learning that the
war was less one-sided than we were told. Last Thursday, The Wall
Street Journal reported that there was extensive damage to an
important American naval base in Bahrain, far more damage than the
administration had said.

According to the Journal, the administration asked commercial
satellite companies to limit access to imagery of the damaged bases.
And it still hasnAt disclosed to Congress the total cost of the
damage. In other words, while we inflicted enormous damage on Iran,
the public still doesnAt know how much damage Iran inflicted on us.

A flu outbreak is less consequential than a war, but itAs symbolic
nonetheless. In April, Hegseth made the vaccine optional for all
units. The results were entirely predictable. After 275 people at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas fell ill with the flu, the Pentagon
reinstated mandatory flu vaccines.

ItAs hard to imagine any Pentagon leader scorning vaccines after
experiencing the incredibly close quarters of military life. In the
absence of robust public health measures, a military base can be a
breeding ground for infectious disease.

And we cannot forget the ongoing war, also undeclared, against people
suspected of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean. Increasingly, the
evidence seems to point to American strikes costing innocent lives.

The man tasked to lead the American military u to advance its mission
and its values u is putting considerable moral pressure on the United
States military.

And we canAt forget that if there were any justice or real
accountability, he wouldnAt be in the job. When he shared sensitive
information about upcoming American military strikes against the
Houthis in 2025, he not only risked the lives of American service
members; he committed an act that would have destroyed the career of
virtually any uniformed member of the military. Nevertheless, he
survived.

It might seem basic to say this, but when Hegseth began his term as
secretary of defense, he inherited a military that had already been
shaped and formed by generations of training and moral formation. Even >>>> a person as powerful as a secretary of defense canAt transform an
institutionAs DNA overnight.

Think of the military as a big ship controlled by a small rudder. The
ship responds to the rudder, but not immediately and not obviously.
But given even a moderate amount of time, the direction of the turn is >>>> clear.

And that brings us to the principle of the matter. The
administrationAs treatment of Donahue removes any remaining doubt that >>>> in HegsethAs version of a meritocracy, there is no level of excellence >>>> that can trump politics.

It is difficult to overstate how much that principle will cripple a
military in a democracy. If the Trump administration is now punishing
generals for following the orders of his predecessor (by, for example, >>>> executing orders to withdraw from Afghanistan or to place a greater
emphasis on diversity in the ranks), regardless of the quality of
their performance, over time youAll create an atmosphere of
institutional fear that can u and probably will u yield paralysis or
serial cronyism.

Worst of all, politicizing the military will break its bond with the
American people. The military is one of the last remaining
institutions in the United States still holding on to the publicAs
respect, in part because of its commitment to professional excellence
but also because it is seen as apolitical and fair. ItAs arguably the
most successful institution in American life that truly models the
immense diversity of American life.

It isnAt a Praetorian Guard for the president and his party. ItAs a
citizen army that draws its members from across the whole of society.

The Trump administration owes the military and the public an
explanation for its treatment of Donahue u and an explanation for its
treatment of other senior officers it has fired or forced out. As
commander in chief, the president has the right to fire an officer,
but as a servant of the people, the president has a duty to tell us
why.

In the meantime, Americans are right to be alarmed. A failed war. A
purge of officers. Potential war crimes. Each of these things should
be a stark warning that the Trump administration is in the process of
breaking one of AmericaAs most vital institutions.

That institution can hold. As IAve seen firsthand, itAs not perfect,
but its commitment to integrity runs deep. It cannot hold forever,
however. In a previous column, I referred to an old remark about the
allied armies in World War I. They were olions led by donkeys.o The
ordinary soldierAs extraordinary courage was squandered through futile >>>> tactics and foolish strategies.

Place the donkeys in charge long enough, and you start to change the
character of the military itself. The donkey in chief is placing the
effectiveness, morale and integrity of the American military under
siege, and weAre watching exactly what happens when the lions are
forced to leave.

ItAs not an image I want to see.

Apparently, the administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have
targeted leaders they believe are too focused on diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI), seeking to refocus the military purely on combat
readiness. YMMV.

izzatzo?

Maybe you have not thought this through. Generals donAt have lifetime >tenure.

You forgot to read the article.

For example, in the run-up to World War II, General George Marshall,
chief of staff of the U.S. Army and one of the key architects of victory
in the great struggle to come, methodically purged many of the senior >officers who had led the service during the prewar period.

It was necessary work.

Too old, too political, or otherwise unfit to command in battle, these >generals had to go.

Marshall replaced them with much younger, talented men whom he had made
it his business to spot over the years. Dwight Eisenhower, for example,
was a lieutenant colonel (a mid-ranking officer) and still in his 40s
when Hitler invaded Poland.

Within a few short years he would be a five-star general in supreme
command of the Allied forces in Europe.

--
Noah Sombrero mustachioed villain
Don't get political with me young man
or I'll tie you to a railroad track and
<<<talk>>> to <<<YOOooooo>>>
Who dares to talk to El Sombrero?
dares: Ned
does not dare: Julian shrinks in horror and warns others away

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2