I am a bit worried. My son, a true blue WP grad, served under Abizaid in GW1, in Vicenza. He seemed to have a few reservations about the "neo-con" strategy after leaving the Army, but had great confidence in Abizaid.
But, he is 82nd AB all the way, and this general's statement worries me. Unfortunately, he is out of the country, in the midst of moving, and I can't sent him the thread via email.
Geesh, I am praying that Rumsfeld isn't just a charming version of McNamara! Please, Lord, do not let that be the case!
One stupid try at "management by objectives" was enough!
Rumsfeld was a naval aviator who spent most of his time being an instructor. Problem with Naval and Air Force is high tech orientated. Wiz Bang is what impresses them. Precision and just in time is what wows them. Army and Marine are grunts. Weapons may change, but the axioms have not. You prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That means you take more than you need, have more troops then you need, it is better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Shinseki recommended more troops for Iraq anticipating the worst scenario, Saddam's troops will fight better than anticipated and other unforseen contingencies (which did occur with the breakdown of Iraqi society and US troops had to restore order and patrol the streets). Rumsfeld felt the generals were typical government types, too cautious and lack faith in the high tech capabilities of our forces. He sidelined Shinseki and any general that anticipates worst case scenario. In fact, no senior general wanted to be Joint Chief of Staff after Shinseki retired and a retired general had to be recalled to duty to fill the job. Rumsfeld thought he was smarter than his generals and the wise axioms of ground warfare were obsolete in the 21st Century. Unfortunately Sec Rumsfeld was wrong. We defeated the Iraqi Army but our supply lines were hit by Iraqi irregulars, there was a shortage of ammo, body armor, and the unforseen need to up armor supply trucks against RPG's, mines and booby traps. From my contacts in DoD, the last three years has humbled Sec Rumsfeld, and he has learned that the generals' were not cautious, but were imparting professional wisdom. Unlike these retired critical generals, I would argue that Sec Rumsfeld has learned alot in the last three years, and he is the most experienced DoD leader we have and we will be very dumb to throw him out.
Me too, but he does remind me of the 60's wiz kids.