Posted on 12/14/2004 5:39:19 PM PST by katiedidit1
NEWS WIRE SERVICES
Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf said yesterday he was "angry" at Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's response to a soldier who complained he and his fellow grunts in Iraq lack sufficient armor plating. And Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a Vietnam War hero, reiterated that he has "no confidence" in the Pentagon boss.
After a soldier told Rumsfeld that he and his fellow servicemen must scrounge for metal to better fortify their Humvees, the secretary told him, "You go to war with the Army you have." That response didn't sit well with the former general.
"They deserve every bit of protection we can give them," Schwarzkopf scowled in an interview with "Hardball" host Chris Matthews on MSNBC. "I was very, very disappointed - let me put it stronger - I was angry by the words of the secretary of defense." More than half of the more than 1,200 U.S. troops killed in Iraq have come from insurgent attacks on the vehicles.
"When he [Rumsfeld] laid it all on the Army, I mean, as if he as the secretary of defense didn't have anything to do with it, the Army was over there doing it themselves screwing up," Schwarzkopf said. McCain piled on in an Associated Press interview . "I have strenuously argued for larger troop numbers in Iraq, including the right kind of troops - linguists, Special Forces, civil affairs, etc.," he said. "There are very strong differences of opinion between myself and Secretary Rumsfeld on that issue."
The Media is knocking themselves out over this..........
McCain attacks Rumsfeld on Iraq ~ "no confidence" ... over his handling of the war in Iraq.
So we have dieagreement between uniformed personnel and the civilian leadership.
That's a first.
In an unrelated press statement across town, McCain recycles some earlier misgivings. And the MSM refers to it as 'piling on'.
Shortly after the Iraqi Election I would surmise.
Talk about a real pile.
This is all going to go away in about six weeks when the elections are successfully held. Until then, expect this crap non-stop.
Norman Schwarzkopf was a good soldier, but he should know better than to trust the media. He was given a false and distorted quote from Rumsfeld, and I imagine his own comments were probably edited too.
Someone who has gotten to be as prominent as Schwarzkopf should know better than to trust the press.
I agree with Rummy. We go to war with what we have... from Valley Forge until now. We expect the best for our troops but we can't always name the exact date, time and enemy.
So, Ashcroft is gone, Powell is gone and the President won re-election.
Lacking their favorite punching bag, fuming their favorite member of the Cabinet is gone and still furious G.W. was re-elected they shift to an attempt to find solace in Rummy's dismissal.
Nothing against the General, but he needs to read the transcript.
McCain is worthless to me, could care less about his opinion.
I bet he's around as long as he wants to be around. I like him.
Exactly.
I haven't read the entire article. Did it happen to mention the question was a plant from the liberal media?
Does anyone else feel Rumsfield would do everything he could to get all the equipment he could for these guys? I do!
My $ on Rumsfeld. May he keep on Kicking butt. Just think what sKerry would've drug in.
Norman out to have a clue about the mess that exists in getting equipment deployed. He should take his anger to Rumsfeld, directly, not Chrissy. If he doesn't get the satisfaction he wants from Rumsfeld, then go public.
I haven't been too impressed with Norman since he retired. I'm still not impressed.
sheesh, make that "ought"...I hate getting old. The spelling's the first thing to go.
Well well well, Stormin Norman crawls out from his fox hole and falls prey to the pyscho ward.
Rummy Rules.
I wonder if anyone has the entire transcript of that interview...something is amiss.
Maybe we need to contact Stormin Norman on this and get a direct answer?
Er...excuse me, General...Were the Humvees armored back in the Gulf War?
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