P.J. Crowley And The U.S. Army War College

P. J. Crowley resigned as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in March 2011 after he said that alleged Department of Defense mistreatment of Bradley Manning was, “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid.” But Crowley didn’t have to wait long until he got another job. The U.S. Army War College announced that Crowley is the recipient of the 2011-2012 General-of-the-Army Omar N. Bradley Chair. The press release describes the Chair as, “a joint initiative among the U.S. Army War College, Dickinson College and Penn State University Dickinson School of Law and School of International Affairs.”

I find it odd that the War College agreed to Crowley receiving the Bradley Chair. It’s true that Crowley said that he did not oppose Manning’s detention in the same speech where he criticized the Defense Department. And it’s true that Crowley apologized later (sort of) for his critical remarks. It’s also true that Manning is innocent until proven guilty. (Even as it’s true that the left largely supports him contingent upon the premise that he actually did betray military secrets.) Nevertheless, couldn’t the War College have insisted that someone else receive such a prestigious, military-related position? Such an objection would have seemed especially logical considering that Crowley has made some rather strange remarks concerning the military in the past . . . and when considering that Crowley’s remarks about Manning’s detention seem remarkably uninformed.

Crowley receiving the Bradley Chair gets even more interesting after considering that the press release makes it seem as if his remarks about Manning are important to what he will do with the Chair. For instance, the press release says:

“I will use current developments such as Guantanamo, WikiLeaks and the unfolding Middle East transformation to discuss how the U.S. deploys military, civilian and economic power in a manner consistent with its values and interests,” Crowley said. . . .

. . . In public comments following his resignation, Crowley called the disclosure of classified information “a serious crime under U.S. law,” but took full responsibility for his remarks and submitted his resignation from the State Dept. Crowley noted that his comments “were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discrete actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.”

Nevertheless, despite the oddity of Crowley receiving the Bradley Chair, I can get over it if conservatives get to play by the same rules. In other words, if leftists can gain positions of power (such as the Bradley Chair) without scrutiny or objections, then I would expect that our country will no longer scrutinize or object to any conservative named to such positions either . . . even if the conservative is a radical Christian who wants to turn the nation into a theocracy.

Incidentally, I haven’t found any reports on what Crowley thinks about the way the government is treating Servicemen its imprisoned for fighting back against the enemy. But that’s not surprising. Crowley probably doesn’t even know about them. After all, they haven’t become a cause célèbre like Bradley Manning.