Demagogue

... if the Pentagon and the White House cannot speak honestly and openly about what's going wrong in Iraq. From a news article in today's New York Times:

Every day, administration and Pentagon officials fume — privately, to avoid the ire of the White House — about frustrations with Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, for not confronting the country’s Shiite militias, meaning that there is no end to the daily cycle of attack and reprisals.

It should bother all Americans, regardless of one's position on the war, that Pentagon officials reportedly don't feel they can voice their frustrations openly with the White House.

When anyone within an institution feels they have to hide or downplay their true concerns, then these concerns are never truly addressed and the institution — in this case, government — is ill-served.

I understand why the White House might not want Pentagon officials to voice their frustrations publicly, but if they can't even express them privately with White House officials, then something is deeply wrong.