Robert Gates Accuses Obama and Clinton of Being Unpatriotic

So, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has written a memoir and Bob Woodward has written an article pulling some interesting quotes and comparing it to his own knowledge of events.  And there is a great deal that is interesting, but I want to focus on one passage.

Let’s start with principles, folks.  There is a delicate balance that must be struck, dear reader, when dealing with war.  It is not that all opposition is wrong, but that it must be a loyal opposition.  So, when you accuse our troops or our leadership of doing something wrong or illegal in a war, during that war, you need to be careful that you actually have the proof (which is one of the things that offended me about John Kerry—that his accusations against our soldiers in the field was often based on fraudulent testimony from his so-called Winter Soldiers).  And any criticism of policy and/or strategy in a war, during a war, should be based on good faith, and not based on politics.  In other words, you only oppose a military action or policy because you think it is genuinely a bad idea, and not because your constituents demand it or you see any other political advantage in it.

Is that all reasonable?  Is that something you, dear reader, and I can agree upon?

Then what can one say about this bit from Woodward’s article:

Gates offers a catalogue of various meetings, based in part on notes that he and his aides made at the time, including an exchange between Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that he calls “remarkable.”

He writes: “Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.”

In other words, we have the accusation that the current president and the woman whom, by all indications, wants to be the next president, admitting that they were only opposed to the Afghanistan surge for political reasons.  That is they believed that it was sensible policy, but pretended it was a terrible idea just to get elected.

What if their political stance had succeeded?  What if they convinced Congress to stop the surge?  Then by their own statements, it would have harmed the effort to win in Afghanistan, while helping their political careers.  So how is that not unpatriotic?

And the fact that they were willing to admit to that in front of a sitting Secretary of Defense goes to show you how shameless they are about the whole thing.

The only defense I can see, is denial: to claim that Gates is lying.  And for all I know he might be.  I recall a series of memoirs that came out during the Bush administration that accused Bush of awful thing which were discredited within days of publication.  We can only wait and see if the same fate befalls this one.

But the accusation laid on the table is a bombshell and any responsible press corps will pursue it.

As for Woodward’s article, read the whole thing.

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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years.  I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence.  If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the donation link on the right.  And thank you.

Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates.  And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here.  And you can read a little more about my novel, here.

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Disclaimer:

I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct.  In some cases, the conduct is even criminal.  In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system.  I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence.  This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.

In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him.  Do not call him.  Do not write him a letter.  Do not write him an email.  Do not text-message him.  Do not engage in any kind of directed communication.  I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.

And for that matter, don’t go on his property.  Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him.  Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision.  Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).

And do not contact his organizations, either.  And most of all, leave his family alone.

The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report.  And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request.  That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.

And let me say something else.  In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above.  But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.