JEFF JACOBY claims that General George S. Patton would never have walked away from the Iraq war ("Patton and the 2008 vote," Op-ed, March 16). As a retired Army non-commissioned officer, I feel the need to point out a few things that the general would not have missed. First, since the end of World War II, roughly 125,000 GIs have been killed in action in service for the United States. Second, the US Army has not won a war since 1945.
The Gulf War of 1991 looked like a victory, and a brilliant one at that. Twelve years later we invaded Iraq. So the Gulf War was just the first inning for the Iraq war.
Patton was mission-focused. But he realized the mission could not be accomplished without the personnel. Squandering the equivalent of 12 Army divisions without a win would have set him off, all right. The politicians in Washington have completely ruined the win, loss, and tie record of the officers' corps.
I am certain the general's opinions of the Washington politicians would have been unprintable. But at least we troops would have known exactly what he meant.
THOMAS BALL
Holden
