White House wants more control over JAGs

[EV_Ares]

Published: Dec. 15, 2007 at 8:53 PM

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has proposed a rule change giving political appointees in the U.S. Defense Department a say in the promotion of military lawyers.

Former officers in the Judge Advocate General corps say the regulation change would threaten the independence of lawyers, because those who criticize White House policies would be blocked from rising in rank. Retired Maj. Gen. Thomas Romig, who commanded JAG from 2001 to 2005, told The Boston Globe it would send a message that lawyers must be "team players."

The newspaper said it had a copy of proposed changes in military promotion procedures, including the plan for JAG promotions. William "Jim" Haynes, the Pentagon general counsel, argues that making the general counsel for each service the boss of its senior JAG would ensure greater civilian control over the military.

Former military lawyers say JAG officers have more independence because they are part of the chain of command.

Link: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/15/white_house_wants_more_control_over_jags/9723/

[lonestarnot]

1. bushitler wants control over everything he can get his stink'n grubby shitty lil hands on.

[opihimoimoi]

3. Signs of a Despotic Tyrannt....ewwwwww, Baaaad.....not good ... smells.....ewwww

[BOSSHOG]

2. Great timing bush

put military leaders under the thumb of civilian liberal leadership for at least the next eight years. dems won't adopt the conservative move of replacing competence with political loyalty .. How much proof does anyone need that conservatism is without a doubt a mental disease.

[TacticalPeek]

4. The Bush gang had better be stopped soon

or each vote cast in the next election will have to be approved by the Office of the Vice President.


:grr:

[EV_Ares]

5. Isn't that the dam truth, one more power grab after another and soon

where will we be if it is not stopped. You would hope the ABA would say something about this, the MSM.

What about our Dem leadership?

[L. Coyote]

6. HORTON: Bush Assails the JAG Corps = Politization of military promotions

Bush Assails the JAG Corps
Scott Horton - Dec 16, 2007 - http://harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001929

One of the myths of the Bush Administration goes to its relation with the military. The facts are very stark. This Administration consists largely of men and women who evaded military service and who have little respect for those who serve in uniform. They have a passion for heavy-handed use of the military, for foreign escapades which they pursue with little planning and shoddy design, but they are uninterested in taking the advice of the career military about how to pursue these matters. Their mantra is consistent: We know better. But in fact it should be: We know nothing.

The men and women who serve in uniform generally reflect the nation as a whole in most respects, including in political outlook. However, the fact is that the military has always been a bit more conservative than the country as a whole. Its demographic has also been skewered. For the officer corps, the Southeast has consistently been over represented. And for the enlisted ranks, it has in recent years drawn more heavily from exurban and rural areas. This reflects a number of factors—a culture which romanticizes military service, more limited economic opportunities among them—but these groups are disproportionately Republican. And the military has therefore tended to be more Republican in its outlook than the country as a whole. The officers corps fairly dramatically so.

Polling shows these numbers are changing. That’s largely the result of a sense that the military is disrespected by the Bush Republicans, and that its role is abused. Just looking at the headlines over the last week, a fairly typical one, we see that in a number of stories. For instance .........