On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:51:51 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

Giving honest opinions is not conducive to a long career in the
military.


So, when a President asks for an honest assessment of a military situation,
the general should lie? I believe that a general has already had a "long
career" in the military, and he or she should be valued for his/her honest
opinion.

Giving an assessment is not the same thing as offering an opinion.

An assessment is a highly structured process based on underlying
factual data and probability analysis.