He has the mandate. And he has to act. He needs to have the Secretary of Defense order an immediate cessation to all US or foreign civilian press in the area of the conflict, and no guarantee for their safety if they go back in "unimbedded" on their own after being told to stay out and back at the Press Center and wait patiently for regular press briefings. Let the chips fall where they may. Who can overrule the President and Secretary of Defense?
The Captain that was just on MSNBC was asked by Pat Buchanan if he thought that they should get rid of the embeds and he said No--he said that he thought that it was a good idea to have them so that the families back home and the public could see what was going on.
He insinuated that by seeing how dangerous it is, then maybe the public wouldn't be so critical. I think he is a little naive. It isn't the showing of the video, it is the tone of the narrative.
If that video had been shown as is, with a diffent tone of narrative. stressing the dangers of approaching injured or possibly dead insurgents, say, this whole thing would be different.
As far as Rumsfeld is concerned, I think he has been out of the country. He is also not one to give an opinion without studying the situation. He has been burned by the MSM and dems so many times, that he is very cautious before speaking to reporters, except for maybe Bret Baier from Fox. Rummy really likes him.