Historian Tony Judt, apropos of liberals like Michael Tomasky who are not part of the “left” and are definitely not “anti-militarist”:
Liberal hawks have been quick to swoop down on dovish critics of the American military — condemning in particular MoveOn.orgs criticism of Gen. David Petraeus. Quickly, it has become conventional wisdom that liberals should never disparage the military.
But why not? Soldiers have to respect generals. Civilians dont. In a free society, it is a sign of robust civic health when generals are pilloried for getting into policy issues. Liberal Democrats should ask themselves whether, amid todays cult of military heroes, a president would dare cashier a Douglas MacArthur for insubordination, as Harry Truman did in 1951 — and what our liberal hawks would say if he did.