I enjoy the writings of Thomas Ricks, who writes on military issues. He just released a book titled “The Generals,” which examines US generals in WW2 and each war since. Ricks is a huge cheerleader for the military, yet pulls no punches in criticizing what deserves to be criticized.

He posted, on his “The Best Defense” blog, some interesting comments on the David Petraus situation, and puts the affair in a historical context. I agreed with most of what he said and disagreed with some points, but he did raise points I haven’t seen others raise.

One area in which I differ: Ricks argues that Petraus, because he’s effective, should be kept in place. However, he writes as though Petraus is leading men in battle, which he’s not currently doing. As CIA director, it’s a whole different ballgame. But, that doesn’t detract seriously from what he wrote.

Ricks’ second paragraph stated: “We now seem to care more about the sex lives of our leaders than the real lives of our soldiers. We had years of failed generalship in Iraq, for example, yet left those commanders in place. Petraeus’ departure again demonstrates we are strict about intimate behavior, but extraordinarily lax about professional incompetence.”

You can read the article here.