"As the Military and Progressives panel came to an end, a young man in uniform
stood up to argue that the surge was working, and cutting down on Iraqi
casualties. The moderator largely freaked out. When other members of the panel
tried to answer his question, he demanded they “stand down.” He demanded the
questioner give his name, the name of his commander, and the name of his unit.
And then he closed the panel, no answer offered or allowed, and stalked off the
stage.
Wes Clark took the mic and tried to explain what had just occurred:
The argument appears to be that you’re not allowed to participate in politics
while wearing a uniform, or at least that you shouldn’t, and that the questioner was engaging in a sort of moral blackmail, not to mention a violation of the rules, by doing so.
Knowing fairly little about the army, I can’t speak to any of that. But it was
an uncomfortable few moments, and seemed fairly contrary to the spirit of the
panel to roar down the member of the military who tried to speak with a contrary
voice."
One of the strengths of our country is that we have a non-political army. It does not fight for the party like the Armies of China and the Soviet Union's. It fights for the nation, and it fights for the people of that nation. If this is what we have to do to protect that then it is worth it.
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