By Libby
I've been meaning to get to this story for a few days now. It flickered briefly on Memeorandum and apparently nobody picked it up, but it struck me as significant in light of the growing beat of the war drums on Iran. Speaking to graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, our DefSec nearly broke down in tears and his remarks were somewhat odd. [emphasis added]
Gates delivered a lengthy lecture about the complexities of war, underscoring the responsibility of junior officers to challenge their superiors even if it put their careers at risk. A tape of the talk was released by the Department of Defense's Pentagon Channel.
"I encourage you to take on the mantle of fearless, thoughtful, but loyal dissent when the situation calls for it," he urged.
Gates appeared near tears as he choked out the words, "I feel personally responsible for each and every one of you, as if you were my own sons and daughters."
Is it me, or he is urging them to consider mutiny here? Did he almost break down because of a guilty conscience? I get the uneasy feeling that Gates knows something we don't know and I really hope it isn't the inevitability of the Bush administration ordering an air strike on Iran as their parting 'gift' to America and the world.
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