Posted on 12/15/2004 12:21:16 AM PST by churchillbuff
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has come under attack from Republican Sen. John McCain and retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf over his handling of the Iraq war.
In separate interviews, McCain, of Arizona, said he had “no confidence” in Rumsfeld, citing his handling of the war in Iraq and the failure of the Pentagon to send more troops, while Schwarzkopf, the allied commander in the first Gulf War, said Rumsfeld seemed to be passing the buck when quizzed last week about the armor supply for troops on the ground.
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[snip]=Schwarzkopf, interviewed on MSNBC-TV’s “Hardball,” chided Rumsfeld for his reply to a soldier in Kuwait over the lack of armor on many military vehicles used in Iraq.
“I was very, very disappointed — no, let me put it stronger — I was angry by the words of the secretary of defense when he laid it all on the Army, as if he, as the secretary of defense, didn’t have anything to do with the Army and the Army was over there doing it themselves, screwing up,” Schwarzkopf said.
Schwarzkopf, a registered independent who campaigned for Bush in the last two presidential elections, has previously criticized Rumsfeld on several occasions as arrogant and out of touch with troops on the ground.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Schwartzkopf went punk a long time ago. He made a big deal about quitting the NRA because he opposed "assault weapons", so screw him.
Norman's books have probably stopped selling so now he can say what he REALLY feels.
More troops, more armor, more brains. All are in short supply and being wasted.
Glad you took time from you work in the Pentagon to share that with us.
McCain is such a loose canon. You can never depend on him.
So now they move onto Don Rumsfeld and try to destroy him. Only Schwartzkopf is an honest critic here.
Despite your best efforts George Bush won. You were an on-line traitor back than as you enunciated John Kerry's talking points.
The election is over now so I won't say the same thing unless you go nuts over this topic.
I think John McCain is insane. He is all over the road on so many things that you cannot predict what he will say. He was a loose cannon at Annapolis, he is still one. In fact, I hesitate to say, but believe from his history, that had he not been shot down his naval aviation career would have been mediocre at best, giving little impetus to his eventual political career. Had he not survived brutal imprisonment by the NVA, to much publicity, he would not have become a US Senator. Remember, he ran in much the same way kerry did - on his VietNam "resume".
You make a strong argument, based on the quality of your post.
Doesn't it bother you, even a little, that you aid and abet the terrorists?
Good points.
You think Schwarzkopf aids and abets terrorists? Maybe unlike you - but like Schwarzkopf - I support our troops, and that means I don't like their getting second-rate equipment, especially when congress has allocated more than 70 billion for the Iraq enterprise. Where is the money? Where and to whom is it being siphoned? The first priority with the money should be to give our troops the best equipment. If you don't agree, then you're the terrorist symp.
I agree that McCain is a jerk. But I also think Rumsfeld has run this war incompetently. As for Schwarzkopf, I respect the man.
And somebody better listen to him because he's right.
I read some ding-dong female columnist in one of the posts today who said that Mr. Rumsfeld had "insulted our troops" by saying that the the "army we had" wasn't good enough. Obviously Sec. Rumsfeld was speaking of the inadequacy of existing equipment in the Iraq theater, not about our soldiers. Equally obviously the Left (in their new found devotion to the well-being of our soldiers) is spinning what the Defense Secretary said in a naked attempt to get back at the curmudgeon who put them in their place over Afghanistan and the initial phase of OIF, and very PR conscious celebrities like McCain and General Schwartzkopf are, for whatever reason, buying into the spin.
Was my comment directed at Gen. Schwarzkopf? No. It was directed at you - a person who daily makes a conscious decision to publicly undermine the efforts of those troops you laughably claim you support.
You aid and abet terrorists.
What makes me laugh is the nimrods who throw blame without having a clue as to what's really involved.
I only wish we had more leaders like Sec. Rumsfeld.
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