Retired generals lobby for lifting of Cuba travel ban
Our buddy, Val Prieto at Babalu Blog wrote to ask me about the background of the nine generals who wrote a letter to Congress to lift the travel ban to Cuba. Those generals included one colonel, but here are the signatories to the letter;
…retired generals Paul Eaton, Robert Gard, John Castellaw, John Hutson, David Irvine, John Johns, Stephen Xenakis, and retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson…
I didn’t recongnize any of the names so I did a cursory search of their bios and this is what i mailed to Val;
As far as the generals go, I have no substantive information on any of them, however I suspect that they have a vested interest in lifting travel bans to Cuba.
The first one mentioned, Paul Eaton, works for the “progressive” National Security Network which run articles about how the Democrats are real good on national security.
The next one, Robert Gard, works for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where he has advocated for withdrawal from Iraq since the beginning.
John Castellaw works for Pictsweet, the frozen vegetable company – I’d guess his motivations are related to agriculture.
John Hutson is a dean at Franklin Pierce Law School. Despite being a Republican, he spoke at the 2008 DNC and announced he was switching parties.
David Irvine lobbied for the anti-torture bill and writes for leftist Talking Point Memo.
John H. Johns retired in 1978 that’s all I know about him.
Stephen Xenakis works for Physcians for Human Rights and opposes “psycological torture” whatever that is.
Lawrence Wilkerson has been a critic of the Iraq War from the opening shot.
I guess that’s why the list is so short – they’re all liberals (and call themselves “progressives”). The lifting of the Travel Ban is hypocritical – the only thing it will accomplish is lining the pockets of the Castro brothers with hard tourist dollars and it’ll do nothing for the Cuban people.
But it gives US Democrats a chance to act like they’re compassionate – but really they’re doing nothing constructive. Not new to them or their supporters who are just looking for a political win.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Congress sucks, General Whackos
Sigh, more facts that the utopian freaks will ignore so it fits their window of reality. It would so suck to be them.
Must be Wesley Weasel Clark was out of town when they went looking for lefties to sign on?
Castro has admitted that Communism isn’t working. I think we should repeal the travel ban, but for other reasons, like for spreading Freedom. I have no dog in this fight except what I’ve read about Cuba. These people seem to make do with little or nothing. And, perhaps, they just might stay in Cuba instead of trying to get here (or go back to Cuba) were we to repeal the ban.
Johns is listed on the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, also.
The Center’s web page has as it’s center piece the link, “Advancing Obama’s goal to secure nuclear materials in four years”. So, yeah, it’s a “progressive” outfit, carrying Duh One’s water.
Another writer on their main page, John Isaacs says that “To move so slowly down to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear weapons, it doesn’t make any sense,” said John Isaacs, executive director of the Council for a Livable World. “I think we could easily go down to 1,000 or below regardless of the Russians.” Yeah, unilateral disarmament has worked out so well over history, we should just leap on that train, too.
If I remember correctly, wasn’t Larry Wilkerson aide for Colon Powell? And doesn’t that explain a lot about a number of things?
I could have sworn Paul Eaton is connected with Votevets somehow, wasn’t he in one of they’re adds?
I could have also sworn colonel David Hackworth had done an article on a General Eaton at Fort Benning about ten years ago. He banned curse words at Ranger school and relieved a few senior Ncos(I think one was a Sgt Major) for some silly reason. I can no longer recall why.
I could be thinking of someone else though.