GOP lawmakers demand release of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a Marine officer that criticized the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

 

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller. US Marine photo.

Several Republican lawmakers have demanded the release of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a Marine officer that criticized the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and is now in the brig. Washington Examiner. Scheller was extremely critical of the withdrawal and posted a video on Facebook demanding accountability from military leadership. The lawmakers say that Scheller is being held for political reasons and not due to his actions. Scheller's hearing has not been scheduled and he faces four possible charges, including contempt to officials, disobeying a superior, failure to obey a lawful order and conduct unbecoming. 

My Comment:

The double standard here is ridiculous. Military figures, up to and including General Mark Milley, leaked, lied and betrayed their uniform regularly and none of them ever got punished for it. Why? Because they were opposed to President Trump. But as soon as an officer does the same thing to Biden and his staff it's suddenly beyond the pale. 

I do think that Scheller is probably guilty of some of the charges. He knew he was torpedoing his career and could face military justice for his videos but he didn't care and did it anyways. Under normal circumstances I would say he deserves to be punished. But these are not normal circumstances and it's clear that Scheller is only being punished because he criticized the wrong administration. 

And it's clear the reason Scheller is being punished is because the military and civilian leadership massively screwed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Nobody has been punished for losing the country. Nobody has been punished for the major terror attack that killed Americans and civilians alike. Nobody has been punished for blowing up an innocent aid worker and his family. And nobody has been punished for an evacuating so disorganized and disgusting that hundreds of unvetted people made it into America while hundreds of American citizens were left behind. And nobody has been punished for having Afghan civilians falling from our planes. 

There is nothing more the government hates than being embarrassed and Scheller's words hugely embarrassed them. The Biden administration can hardly admit that they failed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I am sure Biden and the Democrats are depending on voters short memories to have any chance in the 2022 midterms at all. By silencing Scheller and throwing the book at him they hope to bury the story and possibly try and right the tailspin that the Biden administration is in. 

It won't work of course. The Republicans smell blood in the water and know that they can use this situation to their advantage. They could even recruit Scheller as a possible candidate, the man is a good speaker and has a future outside of the military. I don't think they are going to let this go and I do think there is a large amount of outrage over this incident.