The Admiral Retires

by George H. Wittman - September 30th, 2011 - The American Spectator

American and British intelligence has known for years that [Pakistan's] ISI not only made payments (often with funds gained from the CIA) to the Haqqani [militants in Afghanistan], but also shared information with their contacts in the insurgent leadership. Any covert operator worth his salt would also accept the fact that ISI undercover officers accompanied Haqqani clan members on some of their raids. Of course the admiral didn't know that. [That is what is known as sarcasm in certain circles!] Ranking staff officers are always protected from the more unseemly aspect of the intelligence operations from which they demand so much.

It is clear that the Admiral was at some point either gullible or professionally tolerant of the ongoing deceit practiced in this backward Islamist dominated area of the world. Both the Pakistani and Afghani are totally dedicated to the concept of Muslims lying to the infidels. It is the reason that the well intentioned but gullible neo-conservatives failed so spectacularly to accomplish their grand goals in Afghanistan.

It was delusional to attempt nation building in a part of the world where no one would stop lying to us. It is the reason so many of us who were once supporters have developed such contempt for George W. Bush and his neo-conservative corps of administrators. It is one thing to be so idealistic that you wish to confer civilization and democracy on a tribal dominated hell hole. However how much money and how many lives will it take before the neo-conservatives concede that they have failed? When will they stop their disastrous attempts to bribe people to want democracy? When will they reach a point where they wake up to the fact that enough American blood has been spilled in a useless cause? Are their egos so monumental that they will never abandon their doomed efforts? We won the war. We are losing the 'peace'.

At the least one supporter has decided that the American people, and our American leaders too, have got to start dealing with reality instead of illusion. Unlike the writer of this article, I do not find the Admiral's willingness to abandon pretense to be a bad thing. I think Admiral Mike Mullen is a hero and a patriot for ending the game being played. The soldiers who are dying deserve no less.