Posted on 04/13/2006 4:24:49 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON Crusty and unapologetic, Donald H. Rumsfeld is the public face of an unpopular war and a target of unrelenting criticism. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced.
The White House insists the defense secretary retains President Bush's confidence. Few close to the administration expect him to be shown the door.
The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday as the administration circled its wagons around the embattled Pentagon chief.
Two more retired generals called for Rumsfeld's resignation on Thursday, bringing the number this month to six.
Retired Army Major Gen. John Riggs told National Public Radio that Rumsfeld fostered an atmosphere of arrogance. Retired Gen. Charles Swannack told CNN that Rumsfeld micromanaged the war. We need a new secretary of defense, he said.
Military experts say the parade of recently retired military brass calling for Rumsfeld's resignation is troubling and threatens to undermine strong support Bush has enjoyed among the officer corps and troops.
With public anti-war sentiment increasing, the president and his team cannot afford to lose that support, said Kurt Campbell, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense.
Yet for Bush to try to distance himself from Rumsfeld would call into question everything about the last three years' strategy in ways the White House worries would send a very negative message, said Campbell, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Joining the criticism earlier this week was retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who served as an infantry division commander in Iraq until last November. He called for a fresh start at the Pentagon, accusing Rumsfeld of ignoring sound military decision-making and seeking to intimidate those in uniform.
Earlier calls for Rumsfeld's replacement came from retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold and retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton.
The most nettlesome member of Bush's Cabinet, Rumsfeld has been a lightning rod since the war began in March 2003.
He was blamed for committing too few U.S. troops and for underestimating the strength of the insurgency. He took heat in 2004 over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the U.S. Army-run Abu Ghraib prison, and for a brusque response he gave to an Army National Guard soldier in Kuwait who questioned him on inadequate armor.
Republicans in Congress have offered Rumsfeld little in the way of public support.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff said Thursday that Rumsfeld has not talked to the White House about resigning and is not considering it.
As to the latest general to call for Rumsfeld's resignation, I don't know how many generals there are. There are a couple thousand at least, and they're going to have opinions, Ruff said. It's not surprising, we're in a war.
But it is surprising, especially because it's a time of war, said P.J. Crowley, a retired Air Force colonel who served as a Pentagon spokesman in both Republican and Democratic administrations and was a national security aide to former President Clinton.
This is a very significant vote of no confidence and I think the president has to take this into account. The military is saying it does not trust its civilian leadership, said Crowley, now a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress.
Rumsfeld himself answered no when asked this week whether the march of retired generals was hurting his ability to do his job. There's nothing wrong with people having opinions, he said.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has become Rumsfeld's strongest defender in uniform. He does his homework. He works weekends, he works nights. People can question my judgment or his judgment, but they should never question the dedication, the patriotism and the work ethic of Secretary Rumsfeld, Pace said.
Clinton, a Vietnam war protester who avoided the draft, was mistrusted by many in the military, and some top-ranking officers publicly questioned his policies in congressional testimony. But Bush, a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam era, has counted on strong support on military bases, one of his favorite destinations.
Bush's dilemma, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst with the Brookings Institution, is that Bush shares a lot of the responsibility for the key decisions on Iraq.
Bush is implicated. For Bush to fire Rumsfeld is for Bush to declare himself a failure as president. Iraq is the main issue of his presidency, said O'Hanlon, who supported Bush's decision to invade Iraq and said he still supports the war.
This article is also on the net titled
Analysis: Criticism Mounts Vs. Rumsfeld
thanks for looking into that. now i dont have to bother reading the article :-)
General Tom Franks made this line of BS clear in his biography.
The "Title Ten Motherxxxxxxs" on the JCS wanted control of Iraq, Franks and Rumsfeld told them to screw off, and ow that they have retired and can't be made to suffer, they get even with lies.
Face facts, "Generals", the US Military is now a Joint Operation, you are dinosaurs, and nobody wants to hear your whining and crying.
Get lost.
I would love to see these candy ass generals deal with Lincoln's Sec. of War Edwin Stanton.
From what I read Stanton could arrest anyone without reason and did including military officers.
When pressure was exerted to remove the unpopular secretary from office, Lincoln replied, "If you will find another secretary of war like him, I will gladly appoint him."
I've noticed this list in the New York times of the top 10 most emailed articles doesn't include anything about Secretary Rumsfeld and the rampaging X-Generals. Guess it's not really an important item among readers of this newspaper. |
Since when does our military cut and run. I thought that when the going gets tough the military steps up.
I'd be checking out 4 myself. ;-)
Every one of these Generals is a low life, spineless piece of vermin. Not one of them had the "you know what" to speak their mind when they wore the uniform of the US Military. They all whimped out and waited until they retired. Rumsfeld rained on their cute little tight parade of they way they ran the military, and the bastards did not like it. So, now comes the long knives for Rumsfeld. Well, weak sisters, it won't work!! Rumsfeld has more brains in his behand than any of these misfits and losers!!! They should be charged with Treason, tried, and treated acccordingly (Especially that moron Zinni). They could all become Democrats, then they would be traitors and America haters too. When will the American people wake up destroy these malcontents and haters of America!!!!
Weren't he and the President taking the Generals' lead on how many troops would be committed? I seem to remember the call srom many in the media for more troops a couple of years ago, and the Generals on the ground in Iraq said that they didn't NEED any more troops. So what's the deal here?
Is this just some personal thing with these Generals?
Yup...he's DA MAN!
I have found that people who get results often make the bitterest enemies.
And the bitterest enemies are often the ones who couldn't get anything done.
Coincidence?
And if he worked for a conservative leaning think tank and were supporting Rummy,I can guaran-damn-tee you that they'd be calling him a paid shill!
I agree. The left is just flailing wildly at Bush and anybody in his administration they think is vulnerable..and they've been doing it ever since he was first elected.
Remember how Rumsfeld was the toast of Washington and media back when EVERYBODY including the Dems supported the war in Iraq?
Now that they sense public support for the war dropping, Rumsfeld is now the enemy...they are hypocrites and cowards.
I may be wrong, but I don't recall a single Admiral complaining about the Secretary or for that matter an Air Force General. Seems like the whiners are from the Army and Marines and unless I'm mistaken again, isn't the Secretary's reorganization building upon the Air Force and Navy assets and decreasing the importance of the boots on the ground services?
BTW for any grunts sharpening their flame sticks, I'm not denigrating either the Army or Corps. |
Ditto. I completely agree.
This is the one area that I agree with Bush and I trust Rumsfeld.
The Bush administration has fallen into the classic error of letting the alligators distract them from draining the swamp. I expect we'll eventually succeed in Iraq but it won't matter because the focus of the war will have been lost.
"Practically every mistake made during this war can be traced back to Rumsfeld's errors in judgment. Too few troops, failure to provide security in the country once major combat was over, failure to provide proper equipment."
You are guilty of petitio principii here, and it is the most classic example of circular logic, because it directly presumes the conclusion which is at question in the first place, hence, your argument simply fails. Your conclusion may very well be correct but your form and content fail to prove it. |
I think we have a insurgency proplem here at free republic of late?
Oh yeah, on many topics too. :)
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