Donald H. Rumsfeld served in the U.S. Navy as a naval aviator from 1954 to 1957. He was active in the Naval Reserve until 1975, giving him 21 years of military experience. <link>

As Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld also has the dubious distinction of having been directly responsible for what is arguably the greatest military debacle in U.S. history. When Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki advised Rumsfeld that half a million troops would be needed to pacify Iraq, Rumsfeld fired Shinseki. The rest, as they say, is history.

It takes only one counter-example to debunk a weak generalization. The example of Rumsfeld should be sufficient to forever debunk the claim that military service is a useful qualification for civilian heads of the military to have. Indeed, Rumsfeld's military experience seems to have bred in him the arrogant presumption that he was a military expert fully qualified to second-guess his most senior generals.

The qualities that a civilian Commander-in-Chief should have are wisdom, sound judgment, and humility. When John McCain jokes that to "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" is a good idea, it suggests that he lacks all three.