Finally, when it comes to bad generals, let us remember Truman's immortal words about firing MacArthur:

I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.

 

Michael Peck is a contributing writer at the National Interest.  Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1.

This first appeared a few years ago.