Marked Men

Military-Brass

I was interested in this slightly fuzzy, slightly presumptuous article in Sunday's NYT Mag, titled "The Vanishing." Among other things, it attempts to explain why absolutely no one is concerned about Bush's sudden loss of authority.

Here's the explanation:

The recent election feels like something more intimate than a personnel change. It feels like the beginnings of an escape from a twisted relationship.

…

Bush has governed as he promised to — with the kind of phony-demotic cocksureness that many people like in pickup-truck commercials and think of themselves as embodying. When he let it be known that he didn’t “do nuance,” it was an invitation to say: “Good. Neither do we.” But this banty self-assurance — our self-assurance — appears not such a great trait when it leads you into a bloodbath in Iraq. The feeling circulating since the election is relief — relief that this unflattering mirror is a bit closer to being taken away. It should not surprise us that this feeling is as strong among those who supported the president as among those who did not.

I don't know who the author is speaking for when he says Bush reflected "our" cocksureness and banty self-assurance. Does someone writing for The New York Times expect "us" to do anything but laugh out loud when he cites people who like pickup-truck commercials as his comparison audience?

Still, let me stick to the main point, which is Bush's complete loss of authority.

If, in fact, the entire country desperately wishes to disassociate itself from Bush, what are the implications? More specifically, to what extent does the authority of the government, and everyone in it, go down the drain with him?

That's where this image comes in. This shot appeared a few days ago on TIME's White House Correspondents Photo Blog. Viciously demeaning, it shows General Pete Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the Army; Admiral Mike Mullen, Chief of Naval Operation; General Michael "Buzz" Moseley, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; and General Jim Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps at the Pentagon scouting their spots for a photo op right after briefing Bush on the situation in Iraq.

Talk about being tarnished with the big brush. Just for the task of briefing Bush on the quagmire (or, at least, playing themselves in the TV dramatization), the intimation is that these men, like four stooges helplessly prostrated to the phony one, hardly know their own names.

(image: Christopher Morris VII for TIME. December 2006. time.com)

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Post-Denial

http://www.reciprocity-failure.com Stan

We’re still very much in this very twisted relationship.
ummabdulla

I’m still laughing, because my first impression was that these guys were praying or getting ready to pray (as in the Muslim prayer).
margaret

I think the Generals and Admirals are in an unenviable position, reflecting the misunderstanding of many people about the relationship of the military to “the people” and thier relationship to the President. They serve the country. Bush is their “commander-in-chief.” They are honor bound, obligated by duty to country to obey his wishes. Why demean these people who have given their lives 24 hours a day, to protecting this country?
With proper leadership in the White House and in the Defense Department, with a Congress which exercises its obligation for oversight, the relationship of the military to the civilian can be a healthy, balanced one, operating for the good of the country.
This photograph unfairly plays into Bush’s strategy of scapegoating the military by pinning the “failure” to achieve victory in Iraq on them.The generals are not, collectively, inept; rather, the gross incompetency of the Republican leadership, in general, is to blame. The Times should be ashamed of itself.
http://www.dock.net/fuming_mucker/ Darryl Pearce

…the worst part is that this matter of war is such a stage-crafted affair. For myself, it’s infuriating that there have been so many “shows” regarding the administration’s “boot-up-yer-ass” foreign policy.
We should be more sincere…
kvenlander

Bush also needs to be told where to stand – see the tag by the podium…
gasho

Straining to see the nametags, the officers appear both shortsighted and inflexible.
I’m no historian, but it seems like being on the loosing side may actually have it’s disadvantages. It’s not just being “close to bush” that sucks for these guys. It’s the fact that the all-mighty empire has overextended itself and is now weaker, less trusted, dishonored and in decline. The cost of the war is staggering (blood and money) and there is zero gain to show for it. These millitary commanders have collectively killed hundreds of thousands of people for bush – they may not be co-conspirators like the other neo-cons, but they have tons of blood on their hands for an unnecessary war. You aren’t going to see me crying for them because they were made to look like idiots by photographers shooting at them.
weisseharre

“Face the music / Salute the colors.”
charlie

The third picture in the Time blog is so strange: http://www.time.com/time/politics/whitehouse/photos/0,27424,1568801,00.html and again, very demeaning.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2006/11/going_begging.html#comments Santa Claus

These current Generals are shallow, phoney politicians just like Bush. Company yes men. Arse kissers. Here, they practice bowing to their meal ticket. Just like every other employee/employer relationship in America.
In a different REAL country of MEN, these Generals would have planned and executed a coup by now and would have installed a real leader.
~\
MonsieurGonzo

Just So Stories : Sullied
the bow : “Bowing probably originated as a gesture of subordination, as lowering the head leaves the bower vulnerable…
…Bows of apology tend to be deeper and last longer than other types of social bowing. They tend to occur with frequency during the apology, generally at about 45 degrees with the head lowered and lasting for at least the count of three, sometimes longer. The depth, frequency and duration of the bow increases with the sincerity of the apology and the severity of the offence…
…Bows of apology are frequently performed at press conferences by high-ranking members… that have performed some misdeed, such as producing faulty parts or policies that resulted in death. These bows are almost invariably performed standing behind a table; the tips of the fingers touch the table while the upper body, held straight, is lowered from the waist until the face is parallel with the tabletop.”
Singer

Browsing through the images I found it noteworthy that all the service employees at the ‘White’ House seem to be black. The houseman and the maitre’d staff, for example. There appeared to be a honkey bulter, but then again he’s getting a lot closer to the foreigners. I can’t help but wondering if the preznit addresses any of them as ‘Uncle’?
http://www.woodka.com donna

There are higher values to observe in this life than “honor”.
Like self-respect.
GeorgeF

Strange, very strange! Bowing to an audience would absolutely not be an officers gesture here. If an officer wants to honor anyone, he has to stand upright, look his counterpart straight into the eyes and salute. You will never see a French, British, Dutch, German, Polish officer bowing like that to any counterpart with one exception: Women – kissing their hand. But even then it not a servile bow like that on the photo, it is a slight bending forward – just indicated. Polish and Austrian officers might tend to get a little deeper view into the ladies decolletè….
David Boxer

Dona if the generals resigned en mass, would that somehow make the situation better? It would send a statement that they dissapprove of the president’s policy, but then what? The president will find more generals, not neccessarily because they merely want to be generals, but probably because they want to serve their country. It’s better to keep the men we have who understand the situation and know what works and what doesn’t.
Santa Claus, how could a coup possibly improve the situation?
Cactus

The Bag: “…..The New York Times expect “us” to do anything but laugh out loud when he cites people who like pickup-truck commercials as his comparison audience?”
Apparently those republicans at NYT are no better trying to identify with the rednecks than they are with blacks. Kinda like Beverly Sills trying to do rap.
This photo is the funniest thing I’ve seen in days: “GENTLEMEN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES”…….”Um, I think I just lost my contacts.”……Uhhhh, maybe I should say a little prayer while there’s time.”……”Oops, looks like my left shoe is untied.”……..”Uh-oh, I forgot to polish my shoes today.”…..
Kitt

I think Santa Claus is onto something.
lower_case A

I laughed so hard at this photo that my eyes watered! There they stand, our big, tough military leaders, looking down at the floor to see where they have been ordered to place their feet. My father would have been humiliated, captured this way for posterity.
As for Bush losing his authority, all I can say is that it happened at least five years and three months too late. Our futures have been sealed with blood. I hate that man; passionately and forever.
weisseharre

saluti la musica / affronti le bandierine : vulga fasces !
stevelaudig

they’ve lost something, maybe it’s the “mission accomplished” sign and are looking for it.
http://molly.douthett.net lowly grunt

I laughed so hard at this photo that my eyes watered! There they stand, our big, tough military leaders, looking down at the floor to see where they have been ordered to place their feet. My father would have been humiliated, captured this way for posterity.
Ah! The light goes on! I wondered what they were doing. Like umbadulla, I also thought they were praying but like Jews at the Wailing Wall.
Maybe they are looking so closely at their stage directions to make sure their names are spelled correctly, although like lower case a, I would think one’s name spelled incorrectly would make it harder for furture historians to trace one back to the debacle that is Iraq.
http://www.kn.com.au Earl Mardle

Most interesting of all is that in a PR and communications system so thoroughly organised and controlled, these guys have lost their place.
How is it that they don’t know by heart where they stand, how is it that someone did not brief them immediately before entering the room, how is it that they don’t just stand in front of their own service flag on the nearest marker.
In an and all cases above, WHY DOES IT MATTER? What actual difference does it make?
In a system where these things really do matter, that these guys no longer know where there place is measures the extent of the collapse.
weisseharre

Impegno di Allegiance:”Con olio di ricino per tutti”
GeorgeF

Fairly ridiculous to have the CinCs directed by name-clips on the floor to their position. And even more ridiculous that they obey such idiotic directives. What crazy mind makes such formalities so imortant that the highest ranking officers of the mightiest armed forces in the world are following childish rules? Is a Hollywood director the background ruler in Whashington DC? Are these men nothing but actors in kind of an action movie?
Just frightening (seen from “Old Europe”)
lytom

They all look like they have stepped into something!
Something that sticks to their shoes, but does not yet get higher…
What they forsee is more of it!
They look so helpless and the blood is only wetting their shoes!
Hope they drown in it!
weisseharre

‘Yes! We have no bananas…”