jcookc6

Just announced on the Sean Hannity show. Will speak at the convention tommorow night.

irateplatypus

this doesn't surprise me, but that is definitely a feather in the President's cap. Gen. Franks is a man with few true peers in military service who has all my respect.

__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill

forseti-6

Good for him. General Franks was a good leader. Funny thing, I don't see Kerry getting much military and ex-military support.

__________________
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Seaver

Well the military has pretty much always gone to Republicans, not much of a surprise.

onetime2

I just finished listening to him read his book American Soldier. Impressive man with a lot of insight.

One thing of note in the book is that Bush constantly asked the General if he had everything he needed to fight the war and the answer was always yes.

General Franks asked Bush to work into one of his speeches the fact that major combat operations are over. He did just that out on the carrier. The reason Franks' wanted it was because of the professed support from our other coalition partners who would send troops once combat was over.

I haven't heard one peep out of Bush trying to place the blame for that statement on the military leadership who requested it. He bore the brunt of the attacks and took responsibility. It's character like that which makes me steadfast in my support for George Bush's reelection.

__________________
Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

fuzyfuzer

i thought that was a really good way to put it. i think bush is taking a lot of hits for the actions of his subordonates, this gives dems a lot of ammo to attack him with, but if you think, it is one of the best qualities you can have.

__________________
"The difference between commiment and involvment is like a ham and egg breakfast the chicken was involved but the pig was commited"

"Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

Journeyman

How many bucks can one man pass? Keeping the blame for saying the fight is over before dozens of attacks are launched against our forces is insignificant to blaming the CIA for the whole shebang.

Superbelt

I'll see your Franks and raise you a General Anthony Zinni

jcookc6

What has he done lately?

irateplatypus

zinni held the same 4 star centcom post that Franks did, though he was not called to war on his 2 year assignment.

is zinni supporting kerry? i did not know that. Bush has overwhelminging more support among the military, but there are a few high profile officers who support Kerry.

__________________
If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill

Mephisto2

Shouldn't serving military commanders be precluded from publicly supporting or endorsing a politician?

Or have I missed the whole point and Franks is retired?


Mr Mephisto

sabatoa

Gen. Franks is retired.

powerclown

Zinni's jealous he didn't get to play war like Franks got to.

smooth

I thought that General Wesley Clark supports Kerry.

And I believe that Max Cleland does, too.

Deep in his heart, Colin Powell possibly wonders "what if?"

__________________
"The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account." -- Walter Lippmann

"You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents, not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists." -- Abbie Hoffman

onetime2

We've had that discussion before.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ny+Zinni+Yemen

Zinni is the same guy who thought it wise to refuel US Navy ships in Yemen. Not the wisest of moves.

__________________
Strive to be more curious than ignorant.

Seaver

One of the big problems of a unified command... Generals shouldnt be in charge of ships, that's why Admirals have different titles.

onetime2

That isn't as much a problem IMO. The fact that his area of responsibility was primarily the Arab states and his soundest judgement brought ships into easy reach of a known terrorist host country without adding sufficient security makes it tough for me to trust his judgement with regard to fighting terrorism.

And before people start claiming I'm only "hating" Zinni because he's against Bush, let me say I had very high hopes for Zinni. It's not too often that a Marine General gains the clout he did. I was honestly hoping he could head up the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give the Corps a bit more legitimacy in the eyes of the other services. His miscalculation in Yemen was huge. It's ironic that it may take an Army General's (Franks) war plan to finally solidify the soundness of the Marine Corps' light, fast, and minimal method of fighting.

__________________
Strive to be more curious than ignorant.