Yesterday, General David Petraeus quietly pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified materials while avoiding a more serious obstruction of justice charge for lying to the FBI. A spectacular fall from grace for a once revered public official, the plea deal received little attention because it conveniently coincided with Benyamin Netanyahu's controversial speech before the House of Representatives.
In spite of the serious nature of the allegations, most of Washington appears ready to move on, with Sen. John McCain saying "I believe it is time to consider the matter closed." The media, at least where I live, has cooperated in letting bygones be bygones, with the Philadelphia Inquirer not even mentioning it on its front page.
My Gut Reaction: They do know how to protect their own, don't they?
Analysis below the fold...
Many people would play down General Petraeus's offense, noting that none of the top secret information he gave to Paula Broadwell ever got published. As one person I spoke to put it, in their view, "It's just an all too common case of a dopey, middle aged guy being led by his d---." On one hand, what Petraeus did does not rank with the really great betrayals of history, such as the treason of Benedict Arnold or Kim Philby.
Nevertheless, Petraeus's actions were a betrayal of the American people, and the laissez-faire attitude of the American political establishment and media represents a dangerous trend in American politics. For lack of a better term, I call it the uniform fetish.
The Uniform Fetish, as I think of it, refers to a tendency among many American political commentators and citizens in general to defer to the opinion of anyone who wears some kind of uniform, particularly if it's the uniform of the police or military. This should not be confused with obedience to lawful authority, which is necessary for any civilized society. The uniform fetishist goes further, seeing the uniformed man or woman as automatically a cut above all other citizens. His opinions are automatically more valid. Her integrity is beyond reproach.
We can see this fetish in operation with Petraeus himself. Several years ago, MoveOn.org published an ad entitled "Don't Betray Us!" critiquing Petraeus's cooperation with the Bush White House. The advertisement ignited a firestorm, with conservatives condemning the attack on the "honorable soldier." The lionizing continues, even when it turned out that Petraeus did actually betray the trust placed in him by the American people. Sen. McCain, for instance, has expressed hopes for General Petraeus's return to public life.
This is a dangerous trend in a republic. Military and police forces must defer to civilian authority, not the other way around. We allow this outlook to remain unchallenged at our peril.