John Batiste

Major General John Batiste (*ca. 1953David Margolick: [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/04/iraqgenerals200704?currentPage=3 "The Night of the Generals"] "Vanity Fair", April 2007] ) is a retired officer of the United States Army. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/washington/14military.html?ex=1145160000&en=fa366452e9e70f1f&ei=5070 More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation] , "New York Times", April 13 2006 - [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/14/america/military.php mirror] ]

From March 2001 to June 2002 he worked with Paul Wolfowitz, and was involved in the very early planning stages of the Iraq war. In spring 2002 Eric Shinseki chose Batiste to be commander of the First Infantry Division of the United States Army, which was deployed to Iraq in December 2003, during the war. Batiste declined a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General and subsequently asked to be retired from active duty, because he was concerned about U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's policies concerning the war.] [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3794340.html Bush gives Rumsfeld vote of confidence] , "Houston Chronicle", April 14 2006]

Post-military career

After retiring from the Army as a major general in November, 2005, Batiste entered into the private sector, most notably working for Klein Steel, in Rochester, New York. Batiste is a two-time combat veteran in both the 1st Gulf War (brigade operations officer in the 24th Infantry Division) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (commander of the 1st Infantry Division). In addition, he commanded one of the two US brigades during the IFOR mission in Bosnia from December 1995 through November 1996 and led the NATO Southern Region planning of the mission in Kosovo.

Iraq War views

In 2006, Batiste before the U.S. Senate testified to the lack of leadership by Donald H. Rumsfeld, the failure of the US Government to develop a regional and global strategy to deal with world-wide Islamic extremism, and a failure to mobilize the country after 9-11 to accomplish the important work ahead. He has never been anti-war, but rather committed to doing things right. He explained that Rumsfeld surrounded himself with like-minded, compliant subordinates who violated basic principles of war and sound military planning in the mission to change the regime in Iraq. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=x4xFl00lx6w]

The Associated Press reported Batiste said, on CBS's The Early Show: [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3794340.html Bush gives Rumsfeld vote of confidence] , "Houston Chronicle", April 14 2006] "...we went to war with a flawed plan that didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime. We also served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership, who was abusive, who was arrogant, and who didn't build a strong team."

According to The Oregonian Batiste said: "I think the current administration repeatedly ignored sound military advice and counsel with respect to the war plans." [http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/114504630878090.xml&coll=7 A chorus of dissent against the defense secretary] , "The Oregonian" April 15 2006]

In July 4, 2006 Batiste commented on the case of Steven D. Green, a former private, who is alleged to have been the ringleader of a plot to rape and murder Abeer Qasim Hamza, and the murder of her family. According to the Washington Post: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070301206_pf.html Ex-Soldier Charged in Killing of Iraqi Family: Coverup Is Alleged; Four Others Implicated] , "Washington Post", July 4 2006] "The military is a reflection of society, and because of that there is always a percentage of Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors who get it terribly wrong. I also think the people of Iraq respect the U.S. military and will keep that in perspective. They'll appreciate the way we investigate and hold people accountable."

Regarding the idea of a "war-czar" post in president Bush's U.S. government cabinet, Batiste commented: "Standing up a war czar is just throwing in another layer of bureaucracy. Excuse me -- we have a chain of command already and it's time for our leaders to step up and take charge." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/12/AR2007041202147.html?nav=rss_print/asection "In White House Plan, War 'Czar' Would Cut Through Bureaucracy", Peter Baker and Thomas E. Ricks, Friday, April 13, 2007; Page A13] ]

Batiste appeared on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" in April 2006. When asked about his proposed strategy for Iraq, he said, "Well, to begin with, I think we must complete the mission in Iraq. We have no option; we need to be successful and protect our strategic interests in the region; we need to set the Iraqi people up for self-reliance with their form of representative government that takes into account tribal, religious and ethnic complexity that has always defined Iraq. The Brits had a hell of a time with that in the '10s and '20s of the last century; nothing new at all. And we got to set them up for self-reliance so they can go on it on their own. I think we're going to be successful. There's nothing this country can't do, if we put our mind to it, but we need to do it right. We need to mobilize this country and employ a comprehensive regional and global strategy." [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june06/iraq_4-13.html]

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2007, Batiste said, "Secondary interests are that our withdrawal cannot create a humanitarian disaster or an Iraq dominated by another state(s) in the region. This may require a residual force of up to 30,000 US troops for decades to protect the US mission, train and advise the Iraqi security forces, provide a counter balance to unintended consequences of Iran and a greater “Kurdistan”, and take direct action against residual Al Qaeda in Iraq. We cannot walk away from our strategic interests." [http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/bas062707.htm]

In late 2007, he asserted that the military alone would not be successful in Iraq. On December 8, 2007, Batiste co-wrote an editorial in the Washington Post stating, "Third, the counterinsurgency campaign led by Gen. David Petraeus is the correct approach in Iraq. It is showing promise of success and, if continued, will provide the Iraqi government the opportunities it desperately needs to stabilize its country. Ultimately, however, these military gains must be cemented with regional and global diplomacy, political reconciliation, and economic recover -- tools yet sufficiently utilized. Today's tactical gains in Iraq -- while a necessary pre-condition for political reconciliation -- will crumble without a deliberate and comprehensive strategy". He argues that at the moment, such a strategy does not exist. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701772.html?hpid%3Dopinionsbox1&sub=AR Getting Beyond Stalemate to Win a War] ]

VoteVets ad controversy

In 2007 Batiste appeared in a political ad for VoteVets.org, variations of which which were shown in a number of congressional districts. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMPIi03wSfY] The ad consists of Batiste saying into the camera, "Mr. President, you have placed our nation in peril," and that the only hope is for Congress to act to "protect our troops."

On Fox News, Bill O'Reilly attacked the ad, and openly speculated that Batiste is now "looking out for politics" rather than the troops in Iraq. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NimlV-hZnyA] The next day CBS stated that Batiste had violated his contract with them by appearing in the ad, particularly because it was used to raise money for political purposes, and that his position as a consultant would be terminated. [cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/05/11/publiceye/entry2791091.shtml |title=CBS News Asks Batiste To Step Down As Consultant |accessdate=2007-05-12 |author=Brian Montopoli |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2007-05-11 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=CBS News |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] There were accusations against CBS's action claiming that CBS took no action against consultants who made pro-Bush comments. [cite web |url=http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/11/cbs-fires-batiste/ |title=CBS Fires Batiste For Anti-Bush Advocacy, Hires Bush Aide To Engage In Pro-Bush Advocacy]

In October 2008 the Federal Communications Commission began investigating U.S. television networks and former military officers who may have violated government disclosure rules while providing on-air war analysis.

ee also

References

* [http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_militaryanalysts_100708/ FCC Examining TV Networks, Military Analysts] , "Marine Corps Times", October 10 2008
* [http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/22/batiste-conservatives Gen. Batiste’s Op-Ed That The WSJ And The Washington Times Didn’t Want You To See]
* [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/25/1456251 Wide-ranging one-hour interview] with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2004/n11152004_2004111505.html Division Commanders Express Optimism in Iraq] , "US Department of Defense", November 15 2004
* [http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-14-voa6.cfm US Officials: Iraqi Forces Improving, But Coalition to Stay] , "Voice of America", January 14 2005
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2004/sp20040131-depsecdef0845.html 1st Infantry Division Pre-Deployment Dinner] , "US Department of Defense", January 31 2004