... Because Criticizing The President Is So Good For Your Military Career

David Brooks babbles about a response to any troop reduction plan for Iraq,

There would be irate opposition from important sections of the military, who would feel that the U.S. was squandering the gains of the previous year. A Democratic president with few military credentials would confront outraged and highly photogenic colonels screaming betrayal.

Highly photogenic retired colonels? Because as anybody with a brain in his head knows, a colonel on active duty who screams "betrayal" at the Commander In Chief will be committing career suicide, and probably won't be holding that rank for very long.

The media seems to prefer photogenic retired generals, a lot of whom are arguing for phased withdrawal. (But when has Brooks, a cheerleader for the war, ever let such trivialities as facts interfere with his opinions.)