David Brin, a reasonably sober fellow, alleges a quiet and bloodless "purge" of the US military's Officer Corps:
... and make no mistake, things are getting VERY bad, boys and girls. The Officer Corps is being assaulted from both ends.This would seem somewhat implausible, save for the recent GOP interrogation of climate scientists and the loyalty tests at Bush campaign appearances.
While radical congressmen are stocking the military academies with young fanatics, filling the pipeline with extremist zealots...
...those at the other end - generals and admirals who are the competent, brilliant and mature heirs of George Marshall - are being chased out. Subjected to political litmus tests. Cauterized in dead-end jobs....
... while middle-grade officers stare in dismay, worrying about their careers, their families, and their nation.
A majority of these guys are lifelong republicans, so this re-evaluation is hard on them. And it would be unwise to make of their despair more than it is. For example, they are not sudden-converts to Hillary Clinton! (Though, ironically, she is one of the few democratic officeholders who has taken a stand on this issue, stepping forward on their behalf.)
Still, these guys can tell that this is not the GOP of their fathers, nor of Barry Goldwater, nor even Billy Graham.
I think if we ever figure out the genes for Stalinism, it will be interesting to run a screening test on the Bush administration.
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