Easter Mutiny or Night of the Generals, All SIX of them!

Well, it's official. We're in another full blown lamestream media generated firestorm and another attempt to take down Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It's only fair I suppose. After all, it's Rummy's turn again. Last week we watched as former House Majority Leader Tom Delay succumbed to the scream machine and resigned from Congress. A few weeks ago it was Vice President Cheney on the hotseat and calls for his resignation. Before that we've had attacks against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. And of course every day you'll find some media story describing the growing calls for the impeachment of President Bush.

Here's how this game is played: First, you find a general like Clinton-era Centcom Commander, Anthony Zinni, whose still out there pushing his book "Battle Ready" written with Tom Clancy. You may recall that Zinni is the one who did such a fine job defeating Al Queda and managing the growing Palestinian terror problem during the Clinton Years. When you hear him say "In the lead-up to the Iraq War and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence, and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption." you might say he is describing the Administration he served.

It was nearly two years ago in an attempt to drive up book sales that Zinni went on Sixty Minutes and said "They've Screwed Up" referring to Bush & companies handling of Iraq. It's taken him two years to find any serious person who agrees with him. But that's where the lamestream media comes in.

All this week stories like CNN's "Another General Joins Ranks Opposing Rumsfeld. " Question: can you have "ranks" with just six people or am I just quibbling? Then, the San Francisco Chronicle splashed this major news: 2 more ex-generals join call for Rumsfeld to quit.

And the game was on....

• From the Washington Post: Behind the Military Revolt
• Boston Globe: Revolt against Rumsfeld
• Lost Angeles (no typo) Times: Generals versus Rumsfeld
• Lost Angeles Times: Anti-Rumsfeld Chorus Grows
• New York Al Queda Times: The Rummy Mutiny
• New York Al Queda Times: Rumsfeld Faces Growing Revolt by Retired Generals
• The Scotsman (U.K.): US generals ambush Rumsfeld
• CBS News: Brass Roast Rummy
• ABC News: Generals clamor for Rumsfeld's ouster over Iraq war

The reality of the situation is spelled out by this commentary by Real Clear Editor Tom Bevans: The Knives Are Out For Rummy.

S I X retired Generals out of how many thousands? And the impression from the headlines above is that the Pentagon is in full mutiny.

Journalists, who always claim to be above any bias and seek balanced reporting haven't exactly been tripping over each other to visit the many thousands of retired generals who support the Bush/Rumsfeld management of Iraq. I had to dig deep and go to the Portsmouth Herald, where one brave reporter was able to dig up a general with an opposing view. And buried deep in the story "Another general joins ranks opposing Rumsfeld" CNN finally gets around to finding Deputy Centcom Commander, retired Marine Gen. Mike DeLong:

A former top aide to Gen. Tommy Franks, a former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, also stepped forward Thursday to defend Rumsfeld.

"Dealing with Secretary Rumsfeld is like dealing with a CEO," retired Marine Gen. Mike DeLong told CNN's "American Morning" on Thursday.

"When you walk in to him, you've got to be prepared, you've got to know what you're talking about. If you don't, you're summarily dismissed. But that's the way it is, and he's effective."

Will we now see headlines "Growing Ranks of Generals Support Rumsfeld?"

Yeah, sure... when pigs fly over Mecca perhaps.

Left Discovers Good Generals: They finally found some troops they support.

After years of dismissing the statements of senior military officials, the left all of a sudden has decided it likes generals after all... or at least six anyway. It shows that they can, finally, at last, find some way of showing they support the troops (again, all S I X of them) AND their mission.

But sorry folks. The American people didn't vote for these six generals and give them the power of Commander in Chief. Even though we were fully aware of the complaints of Zinni and others prior to the 2004 election, we re-elected President Bush with the largest number of votes ever cast for a presidential candidate. A vote total that saw increased margins not just in the conservative base, but also women, Jewish, black and Hispanic voters.

It's the President's constitutional authority to appoint members of his cabinet. He doesn't take a poll from military officers on who should lead them. It might be interesting if we did take a poll of active and retired officers. When the result comes in showing overwhelming support for Rumsfeld, the lamestream media would have to find someone else to pick on.