Ultimately, it is the personal goal and professional goal of the “organizer” that makes the difference. For someone like General Petraeus, while I do not at all agree with the application of the moniker of community organizer to the CI mission of our troops, it is the practical ordinary and everyday stuff that makes the biggest difference to a community.

For Alinski types, and anyone slaving for grant moneys, it is the ability to sell the granting agency on the value to be realized in granting moneys. The difference between what a Commanders funds do and what grants accomplish is the ability to measure in real dollar and in real security terms what the a Commanders funds can achieve. Accountability is not necessarily a feature of Grant applications.

There was a real, life changing urgency to what those folks did in opposition to Marcos and opposing the Communists that is not present in Chicago, or in New York (at least since Mayor Dinkins stepped down). If there was a list of top “Community Organizers” put together, the US Military would not be on the list but Yassir Arafat could be listed at the top.