White House should "not play politics with the military", B. Ackerman

Quote:
"President George W. Bush’s campaign to stay the course in Iraq is taking a new and constitutionally dangerous turn. When Senator John Warner recently called for a troop withdrawal by Christmas, the White House did not mount its usual counterattack. It allowed a surprising champion to take its place. Major General Rick Lynch, a field commander in Iraq, summoned reporters to condemn Mr Warner’s proposal as “a giant step backwards”. It was Maj Gen Lynch who was making the giant step into forbidden territory. **He had no business engaging in a public debate with a US senator. His remarks represent an assault on the principle of civilian control – the most blatant so far during the Iraq war.**" [my emphasis]

Reason for Nomination:
I could not read the whole article (titled "Do not play politics with the military") as it is accessible only by members, but "assault on the principle of civilian control" seems to me a useful frame for progressives, in the same lines of "Congress is the decider". I believe connections could also be made with the "our troops held hostage" frame.

For some background, here's a story about Sen. Warner's criticism of the occupation:

http://www.ft.com/[…]/90279e26-51d1-11dc-8779-0000779fd2ac.html

And about Maj. Gen. Lynch's response:

http://www.ft.com/[…]/e8041158-5279-11dc-a7ab-0000779fd2ac.html

I found it interesting that Maj. Gen. Lynch's name also came up in connection with US propaganda in Iraq, specifically with 2005 reports of planting US-friendly stories in Iraqi media:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4489696.stm