Carly Fiorina said in Tuesday night’s debate that, if elected as the next commander in chief, she would bring back the “warrior class” of celebrated generals who left the military because they provided intelligence that contradicted President Obama’s view of the war.
“Every single one of these generals I know, every one was retired early because they told President Obama things that he didn’t want to hear,” Fiorina said during CNN’s prime-time debate in Las Vegas, listing retired Gens. David Petraeus, Stanley McChrystal, James Mattis, Jack Keane and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
The problem is that four out of the five don’t match Fiorina’s description.
Petraeus was the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan before retiring — not early — and becoming director of the Central Intelligence Agency as a civilian. He resigned in 2012 due to an affair with his biographer that was discovered by the FBI.
Keane, who served as the Army’s vice chief of staff, didn’t retire over a clash with the Obama administration. He served in the George W. Bush administration.
“No, I have never spoken to the president. That’s not accurate, and I never served this administration. I served the previous administration,” the general said during an appearance on Fox Business.
McChrystal was the leader of U.S. forces in Afghanistan before a Rolling Stone article in which his aides made anonymous disparaging remarks about the administration forced him to resign in 2010.
“I strongly support the president’s strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people,” McChrystal wrote in a statement announcing his resignation. “It was out of respect for this commitment — and a desire to see the mission succeed — that I tendered my resignation.”
While McChrystal did detail tensions between the White House’s willingness to commit resources and the Pentagon’s demands for the war, he was also given nearly everything he publicly asked for. After the general said that at least 40,000 troops would be needed, the president committed 30,000 U.S. troops and said he would ask coalition partners for the rest, according to a New York Times report.
Mattis was reportedly pushed out of the military over disagreements with the administration and clashes with civilians, but it’s hard to argue that serving for 44 years can be considered early, especially after serving two tours as a four-star general. While most leaders of combatant commands on average serve 2.7 years, Mattis stepped down as head of U.S. Central Command after 2.6 years, with the Pentagon arguing he was due to be replaced, Fox News reported.
Flynn, the only former top military official to clearly fit Fiorina’s narrative, left his job as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency a year early over his challenging the administration on its strategy in the Middle East, according to reports.
Fiorina’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
