Lawyers, physicians, and other experts are advisors, not commanders. Your lawyer explains the differences between a will and a living trust. But you decide which is best for you. Your physician explains the pros and cons of the Covid-19 vaccine. But you decide whether to take it.

But when we confuse advisors with commanders, the trouble starts.

The first night of the war in Afghanistan, we located Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban and our number two target next to Bin Laden. But Gen. Tommy Franks, our overall commander, was unable to take him out. Franks commanded the military but not the CIA, and the CIA controlled the drones.

A CIA lawyer decided that Mullah Omar was a head of state, despite the fact that the US never recognized the Taliban. A presidential executive order forbade killing a head of state. So while they were arguing back and forth, Mullah Omar escaped, perhaps to Pakistan. He reportedly died in 2013.

This debacle illustrates two points:

1) Unity of command is essential. Gen. Franks should have been in charge of all assets needed for victory.

2) Lawyers are advisors. They advise us. But we have the responsibility, the duty, to make the final decision. Franks should have threatened the CIA guy in charge with arrest for misbehavior in the face of the enemy, a death-penalty offense. He should have awakened Pres. Bush if necessary.

Can you imagine Gen. Eisenhower altering D-Day to suit a lawyer? You can’t imagine it? My point exactly.

Now can you name another expert who should be an advisor, advising our leaders on how to handle Covid-19, but who has morphed into a virtual dictator? Can you name another case where serious problems arose when we confused our advisor with our boss? The CIA lawyer allowed Mullah Omar, our sworn enemy, to die in comfort. Dr. Fauci and his acolytes may well have caused a great many worse problems.

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