Military Intelligence

The White House recently sacked General McChrystal, largely because of some comments he made to Rolling Stone magazine. I'm all for freedom of speech, but I can see how there's something of a need for the top Generals in the field to not be scathingly critical of their Commander in Chief. Letting them trash-talk the civilian government could theoretically open the doors to a coup. In general, we should try to not make the same mistakes the Romans did.

But this vacancy means General Petraeus will be filling the gap, and increasing his duties. Petraeus, about whom there's a fair amount of internet speculation that he might be the Republican Nominee for President in 2012. Which means you have a sitting general at the pinnacle of his career with really no where to rise, possibly contemplating running for the highest office. That's a pretty serious conflict of interests. He can either do his current job real well, or he can let things get out of hands and claim it's the President's fault then use it against him while campaigning. I know there's that bit about keeping your enemies closer, but I'm kinda wondering if this isn't a tactical blunder for the O-man.

Of course, for all I know Petraeus is a stand-up guy with a strong moral compass who would never dream of doing that. Obama may have assessed that. And for all I know, he might not be interested in the Oval Office, and rampant internet speculation may be way off the mark. I'll admit my paranoia on this one is mainly based on him having a Roman-sounding name. It's just too close to Praetorian.

Bonus Historical Fact: When the Romans would give a parade for a triumphant General, there was always an extra man in the main chariot, whispering in the General's ear. This man's loyalty was to the Senate. His duty during this triumphal parades was to whisper "remember, you are mortal" in the Commanding Officer's ear, to counter-act the ego-rush of having a million Romans cheer your name and throw flowers at your feet. I've often wondered if this tidbit recorded by historians is incomplete. I mean, if you're standing that close to him and whispering in his ear, you could easily also be holding a knife to his back and the crowds might never notice. That would certainly remind him just how mortal he is.