Will the Warfighters Prevail?

Victor Davis Hanson provides insight as to who gets promoted and who doesn't in wartime, and why it matters.

I well remember how this went during the Clinton years, when the Administration meddled in unprecedented ways in the promotion system. Many of the useful idiots such as Wes Clarke and Merrill McPeak got big boosts for being the only left-wing candidates for high military office. Clinton rewarded politicians-in-uniform.

Of course, when the balloon goes up, such men are worse than worthless (Clarke came within a whisker of getting us into a shooting war with the Russians during the Bosnia conflict).

Keep an eye on who gets the bump this time. If it's serious warriors like David Petraeus, we'll be in luck.