The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2022

Yes, Dear Readers, it's time once again to employ the Great Sifter to separate the chaff from the chaff and identify yet another ass clown for appropriate ridicule. This being an election year, the task is made much more difficult by the sheer number of clownish buffoons running for office, especially on the right, and yet those worthies are being challenged by a surging wave of ass clowns in other areas of endeavor. After much research and consideration, I had decided on this period's recipient for the award, but at the last minute I decided to go in a different direction. Don't worry, John Durham, you're still in contention, but you were edged out in the competition for

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2022

in favor of a group award to

Retired Senior Military Officers

Working for Foreign Governments

An exhaustively-researched series of investigative articles published this week by The Washington Post revealed that hundreds of retired senior military officers (generals, admirals, colonels, and Navy captains) have accepted lucrative jobs advising or training foreign military forces and governments, many of which have policies antithetical to US interests or forces against which Americans might someday need to fight.

Fifteen retired generals and admirals have taken jobs with the repressive government of Saudi Arabia, which - it might be also noted - recently stiffed the United States by agreeing to raise the price of oil. Saudi Arabia was also, it should also be noted, widely condemned for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, apparently ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sultan.

Beyond the Middle East, it was reported that retired Navy admirals had been contracted by the government of Australia to advise on its nuclear submarine program (while at the same time serving as consultants to the US Navy); one retired admiral was hired by the government of Australia to serve as its deputy secretary of defense and to oversee its submarine program. 

It was, of course, widely known that retired general and former National Security Advisor to Der Furor Michael Flynn had accepted payments from the government of Russia for speeches to Russian audiences and business concerns, evidently in an attempt to curry favor with someone likely to be part of a conservative Republican administration. 

 

Sadly, the tradition of military officers cashing in on their expertise to help potentially hostile governments is not limited to the United States. According to reports in the British press, as many as 30 former Royal Air Force pilots have been hired under lucrative contracts to train pilots of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, this period's Ass Clown Award goes to those high-ranking US military officers who have cashed in on their service to advise foreign governments and militaries. While legal (when properly reported, reviewed, and approved, in many cases with a simple rubber stamp), it is unseemly and, at worst, could reflect a profound threat to our security.

Have a good day, and make sure you are registered and have a plan to vote on November 8th. The stakes are high.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the next installment of our Cartoon Saturday salute to Halloween, this week featuring ghosts. More thoughts then.

Bilbo