A Huffing Post

Murdoc rightly believes Huffington Post-er Mr Lewis . . .

…So here’s to General David Petraeus. A general to die for…

. . . is being sarcastic.  However, to be really effective sarcasm must be rooted in reasonably contradictory and recondite knowledge.  But in this case, those are apparently much lacking. 

For trying glibly to demean the general’s service history owing to his having had the utter nerve to have come of age in what was until 2001 essentially a peacetime U.S. army, is not unlike slamming Gen. George C. Marshall for overseeing the creation of the draftee-based force and being F.D.R’.s trusted military chief of staff – “I didn’t feel I could sleep at ease with you out of Washington.” – and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for being given top command for Overlord, despite neither having previously personally commanded any large force on a battlefield.  (With their careers, of course Mr Lewis is undoubtedly familiar.) 

But perhaps Mr Lewis would have preferred that Gen. Petraeus had moonlighted at some point as a mercenary?  Or that perhaps the U.S. had started a few major wars in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, simply to get future top generals battlefield command experience? 

So rather than feel a need to rebut, one should instead just smirk at the vacuousness, really. 

[posted 8:59 AM Florida time]