Feb. 20, 2007 - 20:38 MST

A NOVEL THOUGHT

An editorial in The Rocky Mountain News this morning took my eye. Here it is in full:

FIRST IN WAR, AND FIRST IN CIVILIAN CONTROL

" The United States emerged as an idea, and going back to the Mayflower Compact, our heritage is uniquely enshrined in documents -- the declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Lincoln's second inaugural, the writings of Martin Luther King."

"One of our founding documents, a vital page of our history, has now been preserved for the public. It is the original -- complete with words scratched out and interlineations -- of George Washington's resignation as commander in-chief of the Continental Army in 1783, the year the Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War."

"In accordance with what so often happened in the Old World, Washington as the victorious military commander could have claimed the role of dictator or even king. Instead, he simply resigned, and the significance of his doing so and how he did it is well explained by The Washington Post: "By resigning his commission as commander in chief to the Continental congress -- then housed at the Annapolics capitol -- Washington laid the corner-stone for an American principle that persists today: Civilians, not generals, are ultimately in charge of military power."

"Following two years of negotiations with the letter's owners, it was acquired by the state of Maryland and will go on permanent display at the statehouse."

"In a Presidents Day observance at Mt. Vernon, President Bush cited the importance of the precedents Washington set that shaped the future of the nation - "first Cabinet, appointed the first judges, and issued the first veto." To which we would add civilian control of the military."

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A rather ironic attendance it would seem to me that Mr. Bush would be there and have something to say that might have made a bit of sense. Yet, he as a civilian I think usurped the option of military might and pursued the Preemptive course of war. Then appearing in full military gear, flown aboard an aircraft carrier, chest puffing out and claiming "Mission Accomplished" as if he alone did the deeds.

Maybe everybody else thought he did a good thing, to me it was an act of sheer hypocrisy. That's the way I look at it.

I guess some of his behind the scenes stage managers had A NOVEL THOUGHT . . . . . . . . .

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