All Alone in the Night

You never want to be the only person still standing when the music stops, and it appears that Major General George W. Weightman found himself in that position yesterday. As those who have been following the news are doubtless aware, MG Weightman was the commander of the Army's Walter Reed Medical Center, which has recently been in the news due to some abysmal conditions there for soldiers convalescing after being wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But MG Weightman appears to have been only the latest in a long line of commanders who failed to take care of the troops in their care, and Lieutenant General Kevin C. Kiley already has served as commander of WRMC and did nothing of note to deal with these problems in the past. He may fix them now that they're news, but firing Weightman while keeping Kiley on sends an interesting message to generals: it's ok to screw your troops, as long as nobody finds out about it.

Relief has been a measure long lacking in this war. In the United States' successful wars, commanders have been relieved regularly. Abraham Lincoln went through six commanders of the Army of the Potomac until he settled on Grant (although Meade actually retained command of the Army through the end of the war). Commanders at all levels were fired if they couldn't get the job done during World War II. Under those circumstances, the situation in Iraq would surely have led to generals being relieved, yet instead the first general to lose his job is one who commands a stateside hospital.

This is what tends to give the lie to claims that the Iraq war holds some unique importance for us. If it really mattered, we would be willing to go to far greater lengths to fight it. Instead we have shuffled along with half-measures and, while I do hope that the surge does work, if we do succeed in Iraq it will be despite, not because of our leadership.

(And I realize this is a short entry, but I'm on vacation, so don't expect much for the next few days at least.)