Yes, all of this! The Jedi weren't at all equipped to be part of a long, grinding war and they jumped too quickly into it (because they thought it was going to be a quick thing, that it'd be over and they could smooth this wrinkle back down probably in a month or so, not years worth of fighting) and being seen as warriors instead of a religious organization is so, so much of what led to people turning on them.
The problem was that every single step seemed like the only reasonable choice they had at the time--should they not have been generals, when they were the ones who had even the barest minimum of ability to lead a fight? We see that they were reasonably good at it! If they'd been utter crap at leading the war, they wouldn't have kept the position for years. At least they had SOME experience, unlike the clones who had ZERO experience and were just barely trained enough to follow orders. At least the Jedi had the Force and were used to missions (for the most part)!
It makes sense, they were the only large scale peacekeeping force the Republic had, there was NOTHING ELSE like the GAR before them! Every system and planet had its own military and police, if you find yourself suddenly dropped into a war, what else should they have done? Let the clones take on all the responsibility? There was no one else. (In theory, they could have scrambled to put together a military, like Tarkin and Yularen and stuff, but even then there would have been no established hierarchy.)
And yet it was still absolutely what led to their doom, it was still ultimately a huge mistake. They had the skills, they had the organization, they were the only established option, what else should they have done? Even eschewing the titles of generals, they would have been rising stars in the military, Palpatine was gunning for them, he would have made sure that they were seen as the problem with the war, that they weren't willing to do their part, that they were too unwilling to actually commit to this war, why? Were they planning to cecede, too? Etc.
Better government + better PR really does seem like the only answer, because Palpatine was so very good at what he was doing. ;__;
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The problem was that every single step seemed like the only reasonable choice they had at the time--should they not have been generals, when they were the ones who had even the barest minimum of ability to lead a fight? We see that they were reasonably good at it! If they'd been utter crap at leading the war, they wouldn't have kept the position for years. At least they had SOME experience, unlike the clones who had ZERO experience and were just barely trained enough to follow orders. At least the Jedi had the Force and were used to missions (for the most part)!
It makes sense, they were the only large scale peacekeeping force the Republic had, there was NOTHING ELSE like the GAR before them! Every system and planet had its own military and police, if you find yourself suddenly dropped into a war, what else should they have done? Let the clones take on all the responsibility? There was no one else. (In theory, they could have scrambled to put together a military, like Tarkin and Yularen and stuff, but even then there would have been no established hierarchy.)
And yet it was still absolutely what led to their doom, it was still ultimately a huge mistake. They had the skills, they had the organization, they were the only established option, what else should they have done? Even eschewing the titles of generals, they would have been rising stars in the military, Palpatine was gunning for them, he would have made sure that they were seen as the problem with the war, that they weren't willing to do their part, that they were too unwilling to actually commit to this war, why? Were they planning to cecede, too? Etc.
Better government + better PR really does seem like the only answer, because Palpatine was so very good at what he was doing. ;__;