Written by Rob Carter   

The worst general in American history? Posted By Thomas E. Ricks ~ Wednesday, August 1, 2012. This originally ran on June 2, 2010.That was the discussion I was having yesterday with several friends. Here is my ranking of their nominees: 1. Douglas MacArthur 2. Benedict Arnold 3. Ned Almond 4. Tommy R. Franks 5. William Westmoreland 6. George McClellan 7. Ambrose Burnside 8. Horatio Gates It was my contest, so I declared MacArthur the No. 1 loser, because of his unique record of being insubordinate to three presidents (Hoover, Roosevelt and Truman) as well as screwing up the Korean War. Plus additional negative points for his role in the gassing and suppression of the Bonus Marchers in 1932. You can't defend a country by undermining it.
It really is extraordinary how the Army has extirpated his memory. The influence of Marshall, Eisenhower and Bradley lives on, while MacArthur has been treated as a historical dead end. Kind of amazing, considering he was a general for 26 years, was the Army chief of staff, received the Medal of Honor, fought in three wars and was a senior commander in two. Gen. Harkins explains why we lost the Vietnam War: Halberstam was Jewish Thursday, March 24, 2011 ~ Old Time Magazine news. ~ By Thomas E. Ricks USA 4 stars mess-up, I think there is a lot to fault the media for in the Vietnam War. But I was surprised to see this in the oral history that Gen. Paul Harkins, Gen. Westmoreland's predecessor in Vietnam, gave to the LBJ Library: "Halberstam was a Jew, and he didn't like Diem." (Part 1, p. 26) The implication was that Halberstam was driven by an anti-Catholic bias. Novel theory of why we lost the Vietnam War, to say the least. Like his original mentor, (Rosicrucian metaphysics practitioner) General George Patton, General Harkins was an equal opportunity hata. For example, he also says: "the Buddhists - they just blow everything way out of importance, as far as I'm concerned." If eccentric, Patton at least was bright and insightful in his own maddening way. I am not sure the same was true of Harkins. He may have just been a big wanker.

Rob Said Come on Guardian or RSN, here's a great story waiting for you to pen it. Obama first President since Truman sacked McCarthur. (Just 50 years) at the height of the Korean War **** Gen. David McKiernan & Successor **** Gen. Stanley McChrystal. & Successor **** General David Petraeus & Successor (Sexual) **** General John Allen (Sexual) **** General William Kip Ward, ** Maj Gen Michael T Harrison (Sexual)If I am not mistaken this last 2 McKieran (For doing Obama dirty work has retired like a sacking) and Brig. General Jeffrey A Sinclare for sex offences marks 11th (But I lost 2 names of 8th and 9th to bite the dust.)Posted on RSN & Disgus ~ Rob Carter says Obama having more General's troubles than ever in history ~ Better get some darker ones? There was a press competition rating who was worst General in USA History? Candidates were:-
1. Douglas MacArthur 
2. Benedict Arnold 
3. Ned Almond 
4. Tommy R. Franks 
5. William Westmoreland
6. George McClellan 
7. Ambrose Burnside
8. Horatio Gates

Now 12 or 13 more to balance in this Politics -V- POTUS Obama& Military alike.

**** 1st Gen. McKiernan David Taking the advice of both the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he also fired Gen. David McKiernan – then the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan – and replaced him with a man he didn't know and had met only briefly: Gen. Stanley McChrystal. It was the first time a top general had been relieved from duty during wartime in more than 50 years, since Harry Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur at the height of the Korean War. A 1st since Harry Truman fired **** Gen. Douglas MacArthur at the height of the Korean War. But were there more by Rendition?

And then it happened:-
Army lieutenant colonel, Daniel Davis, served in Afghanistan, says the war isn't working & our military leaders are not telling the truth about the war.
Brig. Gen. Terence Hildner died in Kabul, apparently of natural causes (If you believe it wasn't a rendition for POTUS) 6/2/2012. He was 49 years old and commanded a logistics unit. Thus I am pretty sure he is the only general to die in theater in the post-9/11 wars. According to CNN - U.S. Brig. Gen. Terence Hildner died in Kabul of apparent natural causes, officials said, making him the highest ranking officer to die in Afghanistan. He was 49 age as commander of the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Fort Hood, Texas, was in Afghanistan to support the NATO training mission. "The unfortunate and untimely death of Brigadier General Hildner was a shock to our unit and Families," Col. Knowles Atchison, 13th ESC rear commander, said in a statement posted on the Fort Hood website. "Both forward deployed elements and we at home station are deeply saddened by this loss. We will all pull together through this difficult period and care for one another."

The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, the statement said. Hildner graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1997. A Connecticut native, he listed his home in Fairfax, Virginia. In 2003, Hildner assumed command of the 13th Corps Support Command's Special Troops Battalion at Fort Hood. That battalion conducted two operational deployments during his years in command -- the first in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the second in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Previously, Hildner served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and participated in the last U.S. patrol along the East-West German border before its reunification.

Then there was a press competition rating who was worst General in USA History? Candidates were:-

1. Douglas MacArthur
2. Benedict Arnold
3. Ned Almond
4. Tommy R. Franks
5. William Westmoreland
6. George McClellan
7. Ambrose Burnside
8. Horatio Gates Now we see 2012/14 Obama the real Obiwan Chief of Staff Broom sweeps wide & fast among Generals:-
1. Gen. David McKiernan **** Negative GWB press for killing kids & failing objectives, made Obama demand a new man to get Bin Laden not kids or War.
2. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal **** Sexual matters have no place in our military quests in Obama view.
3. Gen. David Petraeus, **** Sex in the fiend harmful to our War Efforts says Obama ~ Marta Harri & Monica Lewinski's we don't need.
4. Marine General John Allen **** Same Sex as #3 eve the same Tart ~ Petraeus jealousy against Alen in email she produced to FBI proved the cases.
5. Gen. William "Kip" Ward **** Sacked for opulence on USA official budget funds. 6. Maj Gen Michael T Harrison ** Sacked for too little attention to a sexual harassment case at their Japan Base where Sex of local harlots & kids is historic. 7. Marine General James "Hoss" Cartwright **** Source of cyber crime, leaking details of "Stuxnet worm" USA used against Iran's 2010 nuclear systems.
8. General Carter F. Hams **** Clearly the sacrificial Lamb **** 4 star VIP below, Clinton SNAFU of Benghazi 9/11/2012 Cover-ups thus addressed.
9. Admiral Gaouette **** I suspect this is another in the coverup of Benghazi 9/11/12, CIA supplying WMD's to Syrian Rebels via Turk smugglers.
10. Brig.General Jeffrey A Sinclair *** Again Sexual Matters are blamable in part? 11. General Keith Alexander **** As NSA Head he has lied to all & Sundry, including Congress as Snowden has exposed.
12. Robert William Cone **** Rob Carter says: I can only say "Possibly" because he ended active duty as a deputy Commanding general in Iraq under Obama at just age 54, became a mere Assistant to the Commanding General at Fort Monroe and then in 2014 aged 56 resigned the Army? No explanations forthcoming on the web.

Reasons? ~ From Associated Press today:-
1. Gen. David McKiernan **** "The U.S. military has detained more than 200 Afghan teenagers who were captured in the war for about a year at a time at a military prison next to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, the United States has told the United Nations . . . .
"If the average age is 16, 'This means it is highly likely that some children were as young as 14 or 13 years old when they were detained by U.S. forces,' Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's human rights program, said Friday. said Tina M. Foster, executive director of the International Justice Network, which represents adult and juvenile Bagram detainees." said "'I've represented children as young as 11 or 12 who have been at Bagram,'

Imagine if a foreign army were imprisoning American teenagers on US soil for years without any charges or due process. Would anyone have difficulty understanding why there were extreme levels of hostility and a desire for violence against the country doing that?
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sput it differently with "Obama felt a new leadership was needed as the administration of President Barack Obamalaunched a new strategy in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war. McKiernan was replaced by two generals, General Stanley A. McChrystal (Commander) and Lieutenant General David Rodriguez (Deputy Commander), ISAF and USFOR-
2. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal **** Dabbled too much in political reasoning and press causing disharmony with friend & Enemy:-
Barack Obama last night sacked the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, saying he had undermined the military's accountability to civilian authority and the war itself with disparaging and contemptuous comments about senior administration officials to a magazine. Obama said he was making a personnel, not a policy change, as he named General David Petraeus, the architect of the surge in Iraq, to take charge of the Afghan war in an attempt to reassure Americans that he retains confidence in the counter-insurgency strategy designed by McChrystal. But the crisis has laid bare personal and policy divisions within the upper echelons of those responsible for running the war and fuelled doubts in Congress and among troops on the ground in Afghanistan about the strategy.

Obama said he was left with little choice but to dismiss McChrystal. ~ "I don't make this decision based on any difference of policy with General McChrystal, as we are in full agreement about our strategy," the president said. "But war is bigger than any one man or woman, whether a private, a general or a president. As difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe it is the right decision for our national security. "The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system and it erodes the trust that is necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan."

3. Gen. David Petraeus, **** This saga will have morphed into Phase 11 or 12, and it will no doubt have been revealed that Anthony Weiner was Jill Kelley's college roommate before a series of harassing phone calls from a Lockheed Martin executive led him to take up residence instead in one of those fancy hotel rooms favored by disgraced Gen. Kip Ward. Prince Harry and the Waffle House guy will probably also turn out to be involved.

CIA Director David Petraeus resigned over an extramarital affair, according to a letter he sent to CIA staff. The news was confirmed by Press Secretary Jay Carney in a briefing this afternoon. Slate's Fred Kaplan quickly reported that the affair was with Paula Broadwell — Gen. Petraeus' biographer who was embedded with him in Afghanistan. NBC reported the FBI has been investigating Broadwell, fearing she had access to confidential information.

4. Marine General John Allen **** The former US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has unexpectedly retired from the military, citing family health reasons. US president Barack Obama said General Allen, who had led NATO operations in Afghanistan until last month, had decided to retire instead of pursuing his nomination to be the next NATO supreme commander in Europe.

Four-star Marine General John Allen—the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan—could be court-martialed because of his alleged involvement in the sex scandal that led to the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus, Philip Ewing of Politico reports. Allen, 58, is being investigated for a possible inappropriate relationship with Jill Kelley—the woman who prompted the initial investigation when she asked a friend in the FBI to look into hostile emails from Petraeus' mistress—after it was revealed that the two exchanged thousands of emails, some of which were "flirtatious."

Allen insists he has done nothing wrong, but he would be subject to prosecution if the Defense Department finds that he was sexually involved with Kelley—since adultery is formally barred under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)—or finds that the public disclosure of "potentially inappropriate” emails constitutes “conduct unbecoming an officer.”

Ewing notes that a key distinction between Petraeus—who is also a four-star general— and Allen is that Petraeus’ affair with Paula Broadwell reportedly began after he retired from the Army while Allen remains on active duty.

5. Gen. William "Kip" Ward **** WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has demoted the former head of U.S. Africa Command who was accused of spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other unauthorized expenses, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Panetta stripped Gen. William "Kip" Ward of a star, which means that he will now retire as a three-star lieutenant general. Ward also has been ordered to repay the government $82,000.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh concurred with Panetta's decision, Pentagon press secretary George Little said in a statement Tuesday.

The demotion came after retired Army Gen. David Petraeus resigned as CIA director because of an extramarital affair and Marine Gen. John Allen was being investigated for potentially improper communications with a woman. "Secretary Panetta insists that leaders within the Department of Defense exemplify both professional excellence and sound judgment," Little said. "The secretary is committed to ensuring that any improprieties or misconduct by senior officers are dealt with swiftly and appropriately."
6. Maj Gen Michael T Harrison ** A two-star general who commands US army forces in Japan has been suspended from his duties for allegedly failing to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault, the army said late Friday. Maj Gen Michael T Harrison was suspended by the army chief of staff, Gen Ray Odierno, and army secretary John McHugh, the army said. It provided no details about the alleged sexual assault case. Until the investigation of Harrison's role is completed, Maj Gen James C Boozer will take his place in Japan, the army said.

7. Marine General James "Hoss" Cartwright ****

According to unnamed sources, Marine General James "Hoss" Cartwright — now retired, but between 2007-11 vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — is suspected by the Department of Justice as the source of classified information about the infamous Stuxnet worm, which targeted Iran's nuclear systems in 2010. Suspiciously detailed accounts of the cyber attack appeared in the US media last year, and the DoJ's probing has reportedly identified Cartwright as a target of its investigation. The general, formerly one of President Barack Obama's "inner circle," has yet to comment.

8. General Carter F. Hams. ****
Carter F. Ham (born February 16, 1952) is now retired a former United States Army General, who served as the second Commander, U.S. Africa Command. In that position, he was in command of the initial 2011 military intervention in Libya. After he had served 37 years in the U.S Army chose to retired in June 2013. General Ham served in a variety of command positions throughout his distinguished military career, to include Commander, United States Africa Command; Commanding General, United States Army Europe; Commander, Multi-National Brigade Northwest during OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM; Commander, Infantry Training Support Brigade, United States Army Infantry School; and Commander, OPERATION ABLE SENTRY in Macedonia. In 2010, General Ham served as co-chair for the comprehensive review of issues associated with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Ham previously served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army from August 28, 2008 to March 8, 2011. Prior to that, he served as Director for Operations (J-3) at the Joint Staff from August 2007 to August 2008 and the Commanding General, U.S. 1st Infantry Division from August 2006 to August 2007, and during the Balkan crisis in the mid 1990s was the commander of "Operation Able Sentry" in Macedonia."

General Ham also said he had “full authority” to attack the regime’s forces if they refused to comply with President Obama’s demands that they pull back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiya," according to one report. Earlier, he said that the United States was not working with the Libyan rebels. “Our mission is not to support any opposition forces,” Ham said by video feed to the Pentagon from his headquarters in Stuttgart.[5]

In an earlier report by Conservative Report, we learned that both of these removals were directly related to attempts by these commanders to mobilize assistance for our folks on the ground in Benghazi, and the failure to follow through on these commanders actions can be seen as potentially responsible for the deaths of at least two of the four who died at Special Mission Benghazi.

Fast forwarding to last week, the ARB report cited serious administrative and communications issues that contributed to the loss of life in Benghazi, but that culpability did not extend beyond the “sixth floor” to the “seventh” where Secretary Clinton sits. However, on that sixth floor, we saw four immediate resignations.

Yes, they were at the assistant secretary level, but action was taken. Clearly, Secretary Clinton would have been feeling the heat when she testified before these committees in January after her recovery from what Laura Ingraham so aptly referred to as “The Immaculate Concussion.” The fact that she will, undoubtedly, not be Secretary of State any longer is of some note, because no consequence can be levied at that point, and, unless criminal activity can be alleged, she will walk away from this horror show. But let’s look at who went where last week. According to Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, Eric Boswell resigned his position, that resignation being accepted by SecState Clinton.

What was not mentioned in the release was that he only resigned from that Presidential appointment, but would retain all other duties he had at State. The other three, including Deputy Assistant Secretaries Charlene Lamb and Raymond Maxwell, and a third who has not been identified, were actually placed on administrative leave and will be fully reinstated. What does this imply? Two startling facts emerge in front of our eyes: 1. Those employees who were found to have “performance inadequacies” that resulted in the senseless death of four men will suffer little consequence while 2. The military leaders who tried to save them were relieved of their commands.

Is there any doubt that the culpability for Benghazi is both ongoing and extends to the top rung of the Executive ladder, the White House?

After a normal 24-month tour of duty as Commander, U.S. Africa Command, General Ham was succeeded by General David M. Rodriguez. General Ham retired in June 2013. Meaning Obama confirmed his sacking but if he just took early retirement he could have full benefits.

Let’s start on 9/11/2012: The commander of AFRICOM (command of US troops in Africa posted in Stuttgart Germany), General Carter Ham was relieved of duty during the events in Benghazi, which led to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens, two Navy Seals & a former Air Force airman. If one were to believe the stories coming out of AFRICOM & the Pentagon, General Ham was too slow in following a “stand down order” during the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US in Benghazi and was therefore summarily relieved of his duties in the hallway of AFRICOM by his second in command, General David Rodriquez. By Army regulation, the demotion from a theater commander takes with it a “star” (demotion from General to Lieutenant General) and a forfeiture of $28,000 in pay.

The Idea of Resigning for better $$$$ terms began with USA's first ever General to President Promo. On 23/12/1783 General George Washington Resigning in the Maryland State House in Annapolis when, resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The action was significant for establishing civilian authority over the military, a fundamental principle of American democracy.

Approved by the U.S. Senate on 5 March 2013, to take over AFRICOM from General Carter F. Ham, Rodriguez assumed command on 5 April 2013.

9 Admiral Gaouette ****
Rob Carter says, In my view another in that same cover-up line? I suspect this is another in the cover-up of Benghazi 9/11/12, CIA supplying WMD's to Syrian Rebels via Turkish smugglers. With Turk & Saudi Funding & Israel support.

In fact, the chairwoman of that House Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla) referred to it as “shuffling the deck chairs,” and it’s more than ironic that we saw “four star officers” falling like a meteor shower in the wake of the Benghazi fiasco.

While the attack was still going on, the General who was in charge of AFRICOM (the command of troops in Africa), General Carter Ham, was relieved of duty. Subsequent to that date, Admiral Charles Gaouette, who commanded Carrier Strike Group 3, better known as the “Stennis Group,” was relieved. NB 1/ HE WAS ALREADY REMOVED FROM Command of Stennis 2/ It was then commanded by others temporarily as he was under Investigation before that date?

In an earlier report by Conservative Report, we learned that both of these removals were directly related to attempts by these commanders to mobilize assistance for our folks on the ground in Benghazi, and the failure to follow through on these commanders actions can be seen as potentially responsible for the deaths of at least two of the four who died at Special Mission Benghazi.

Fast forwarding to last week, the ARB report cited serious administrative and communications issues that contributed to the loss of life in Benghazi, but that culpability did not extend beyond the “sixth floor” to the “seventh” where Secretary Clinton sits. However, on that sixth floor, we saw four immediate resignations.

Yes, they were at the assistant secretary level, but action was taken. Clearly, Secretary Clinton would have been feeling the heat when she testified before these committees in January after her recovery from what Laura Ingraham so aptly referred to as “The Immaculate Concussion.” The fact that she will, undoubtedly, not be Secretary of State any longer is of some note, because no consequence can be levied at that point, and, unless criminal activity can be alleged, she will walk away from this horror show. But let’s look at who went where last week. According to Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, Eric Boswell resigned his position, that resignation being accepted by SecState Clinton. What was not mentioned in the release was that he only resigned from that Presidential appointment, but would retain all other duties he had at State.

The other three, including Deputy Assistant Secretaries Charlene Lamb and Raymond Maxwell, and a third who has not been identified, were actually placed on administrative leave and will be fully reinstated. What does this imply? Two startling facts emerge in front of our eyes: 1. Those employees who were found to have “performance inadequacies” that resulted in the senseless death of four men will suffer little consequence while 2. The military leaders who tried to save them were relieved of their commands.

Is there any doubt that the culpability for Benghazi is both ongoing and extends to the top rung of the Executive ladder, the White House?