Michael Meese, A Credible Republican American (Updated)

From Newsweek: "The Brains Behind the Surge"

Two other colonels quickly signed up [for the surge] as well. [ . . . ] Another is Col. Michael Meese, 47, (above, right) a West Point professor and head of the school's prestigious social-studies department. A Princeton graduate like Petraeus, he holds a Ph.D. in economics. (His father, former attorney general Ed Meese, served on the Iraq Study Group.) The colonel was Petraeus's XO in Bosnia in 2001. Two days after classes ended at West Point, he was on a plane to Iraq, where he stayed until school resumed. "This is my second summer vacation in Iraq," says Meese, who wants to help with reconstruction planning if the surge prevails.

There's More:

Col. Meese recently shared a stage with Cindy Sheehan at Drury University in Joplin, Missouri. Money quote:

The gist of his speech was that dissent should be civil and well-informed. He chastised educational establishments for not providing courses dealing with the study of the military and its role in national security. [ . . . ]

[Col. Meese] also called for more broad-based participation in the military citing the miniscule percentage of Ivy League graduates who enter military service. On this subject he suggested that the audience read, AWOL-the unexcused absence of America's upper classes and what it means to our country by Kathy Roth-Douquet and Frank Schaeffer.

OYE endorses this book and warmly welcomes Col. Meese to Operaton Yellow Elephant.