How else will they retire? It's not like CNN and MSNBC can hire all of them!
Yeah, and Ollie North ruined it for military people at Fox /s
Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
21–30 of 167 posts
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperial Russian Navy after he retired from the US Navy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones
Perhaps not unusual, but ethical? That’s a different matter. A former US general working for a theocratic, monarchy with a deeply concerning history on human rights raises some serious red flags in my mind.
Wasn't the Russian Empire also as such.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#23Chances are good these US ex-military are not loyal to Saudi Arabia. They're only doing it for the money, not fanatical idealisms. We have the Logan Act and Espionage Act to protect us, and we benefit from these activities through income taxes.
It's not uncommon for ex-military to take such jobs as a way to insulate the Pentagon (or your favourite government) even though they in fact still 'work'for them.
This was (still is?) a classic of French influence in Africa, for instance.
Here my interpretation is that the US keep a close watch on the Saudis...
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#24Apparently British officers are taking positions with the Chinese too.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#25Chances are good these US ex-military are not loyal to Saudi Arabia. They're only doing it for the money, not fanatical idealisms. We have the Logan Act and Espionage Act to protect us, and we benefit from these activities through income taxes.
It's not uncommon for ex-military to take such jobs as a way to insulate the Pentagon (or your favourite government) even though they in fact still 'work'for them. This was (still is?) a classic of French influence in Africa, for instance. Here my interpretation is that the US keep a close watch on the Saudis...
That's an interesting interpretation and I hope you're right. I read it and just assumed it was people finally cashing out after public service and going to the highest bidder.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#26Well, they are free people, not slaves. If they want to take a job in the private sector, they should have the freedom to do it, including working for a sovereign state that is not an enemy. Of course, they have knowledge of classified stuff, but I'm sure there are protocols around that, and they are aware of it. It would be more scandalous if they were to take jobs with Russia, or Iran. But Saudi Arable is a US ally…
I would not count of SA being an ally for ever. I find this highly inappropriate especially for someone with sich high rank. Very very dangerous territory that could end up with a treason charge.
In the United States, the charge of treason only has meaning within the context of a declared war (due to it's specific definition within the constitution). Given that wars are no longer declared, I don't foresee even literal traitors being charged with treason until either a law is passed creating a different charge with different criteria, or Congress decides to check the Executive regarding the declaration of war. No reason to believe either are on the horizon; it's entirely possible no one will ever be charged with treason in the United States ever again.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
This sort of thing isn’t all that unusual. John Paul Jones, whom many regard as the "father" of the United States Navy, served as a rear admiral for the Imperial Russian Navy after he retired from the US Navy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Jones
Back the day Napoleon, from Corsica, actually whantedbto join the British Army before he settled to become an Artillery Officer in the French Army. The rest is, quite literally, history. We don't live in the 19th century anymore so.
Do you have a citation for that? My understanding is he went to boarding school in France at the age of 9 and then directly entered the French military academy. The hero of his youth, Pasquale Paoli, was in exile in England for much of that time and so maybe he wanted to join him until the revolution happened and Napoleon no longer supported Corsican independence.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#28Chances are good these US ex-military are not loyal to Saudi Arabia. They're only doing it for the money, not fanatical idealisms. We have the Logan Act and Espionage Act to protect us, and we benefit from these activities through income taxes.
Those only work for people in the US or countries that will extradite which I would guess SA would be unlikely to do in this case. I’m not saying that there’s going to be a bunch of treasoning or anything, just that the laws you’re citing wouldn’t be particularly useful if said treasoning did happen.
Doing anything remotely perceived as treasonous seems dumb. More than likely they are acting closer to spies for the US (against SA) in these positions.
Re: Retired U.S. generals, admirals take top jobs with Saudi crown prince
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not uncommon for ex-military to take such jobs as a way to insulate the Pentagon (or your favourite government) even though they in fact still 'work'for them. This was (still is?) a classic of French influence in Africa, for instance. Here my interpretation is that the US keep a close watch on the Saudis...
That's an interesting interpretation and I hope you're right. I read it and just assumed it was people finally cashing out after public service and going to the highest bidder.
Oh they do get a great payday, but that does not necessarily mean that they cut informal ties with the Pentagon or do things against the wishes of the Pentagon.
In this case, the US and the Saudis have been 'tight' for 70 years so one can imagine it is all very friendly...