Can Rumsfeld withstand backtalk of former commanders? - Rumsfeld flunking, ex-generals charge

ap on San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 4/13/06 | Tom Raum - ap

[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.

[Texas Eagle]

Since when does our military cut and run.

Amen. The families and friends of those killed on Flight 93 and the planes that were flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon deserve better.

The terrorist started this war on their terms, we'll finish it on ours.

With all due respect Gen. Wanker, go to Hell. Or as Belly-button Girl might say, "You shut the hell up, we'll protect civilization."

[HawaiianGecko]

For all you folks who missed the point, the Iraq war isn't the GWOT, it's what's replaced the GWOT. It's as though, after D-Day, we stopped the war until we got France straightened out.

I think Iran and the GWOT have been "job one" since "day one" with President Bush.

Iran is a good sized country with a large army and a sophisticated and educated population. A war with the premier perpetrators of Islamic terrorism is no small feat. But, right now we have a  combat toughened military whereas the last combat Iran saw was sixteen years ago. We won't have to cover our flank on the West worrying about Hussein's Iraq and in fact now have bases there along with some 300,000 newly trained Iraqis many of whom hold some fairly serious grudges against Iran. We have bases in the North in Turkey, new bases in several of the "???-STANS" of the former soviet bloc to the North, Afghanistan with current U.S. bases to the East, a friend in the President of Pakistan to keep them on the sidelines and India who would love to exert more influence in central Asia. Put a handful of carrier battle groups to the South and Iran is in fairly sh?t shape.

In conclusion, I don't think I or President Bush have missed the point at all.

 

[HawaiianGecko]

"I think we have a insurgency proplem here at free republic of late?"

Naw, just dead-enders.

[Rome2000]

This is the face of the enemy.

His name is Donald Newhouse, billionaire democrat and managing director of the Associated Press, a leftist propaganda organ comitted to undermining the GOP at any cost, including the security of the nation.

Every day this enemy of the state unleashes a horde of minor league propagandists on the American psyche in a blatant attempt to topple any GOP government that is elected by the American people.

[tobyhill]

Drive by media and now drive by Retired Generals. What's on the menu for next week?

[ClaireSolt]

Too much affirmative action in the Clinton government, imho.

[Rome2000]

Youre saying the Saddam Hussein regime was not a terrorist state?

They didn't supply money to suicide bombers and paint American planes with AA radar for 10 years straight?

They weren't the #1 anti american antagonist state in the mideast after the fall of the Taliban?

Saddam wasn't a terrorist, is that what you are saying?

[JasonC]

The most pathetic angle the commies have tried yet.

Next they will claim that Bush's dog doesn't support the war in Iraq.

[ClaireSolt]

There is a lot more going on in the GWOT than the media is covering.

[tobyhill]

It's not for this administration to admit mistakes, it's for this administration to make adjustments to make things better. Rumsfeld is doing fine and making adjustments as needed and that's usually the reason people get mad because they are not change agents they're for status quo.

[Two-Bits]

As a proud Mom of a son in the Navy, I thank God for Donald H. Rumsfeld. I could not have picked a better Secretary of Defense. My dream would be for a Presidential ticket of Cheney & Rumsfeld.....From my lips to God's ears....

[SuziQ]

Also none of these generals really had a hand in the planning of the war. I for one am getting tired of their back stabbing.

Ahh. So that's what the story meant about Rummy scrapping the plans they'd had 'in the drawer' for 10 years. I'm sure Rummy and Gen. Franks realized that any plans that old were not appropriate for the kind of war we'd be facing in Afghanistan and Iraq. The very real possibility of suicide bombers and IEDs made the prosecution of this war like nothing our military had faced before. There had always been isolated attacks on military units and installations before, but nothing quite so organized. And it was clear from the beginning that the attacks, after the initial war, were being coordinated using fighters from outside the country; it was NOT a classic insurgency.

These whining generals seemed desirous of fighting the LAST war, not the next one, and got their knickers in a twist when plans didn't go their way.

[Btrp113Cav]

rumsfeld has made some critical errors, especially when it comes to troops on the ground. Our soldiers and marines are bearing the brunt of this war, yet rumsfeld decides to approve expanding our air farce and giving them expensive projects and fighter planes. We are already way ahead of our rivals (china and russia) in fighter technology. lets stay focused on the war on the ground, that is where we will make our money. I have heard complaints from ground commanders the funding, money, and resources just are not there.

[El Gato]

It would be very interesting to see where these Generals now work.

Rummy is particularly unpopular in the Army for canceling two of their most favored systems, the Crusader mobile artillery, and the Comanche helicopter.

There are also many in the Army, well below general's rank, who feel Rummy is trying to do "defense on the cheap". Can't say that I don't agree with them to a certain extent.

[El Gato]

Almost all the "leadership" were promoted to O-6 by Clinton.

[righttackle44]

When cowardly Iraqi foreign fighters and insurgents ambush our guys, they are designated "the enemy."

Naturally, (and I like Rush Limbaugh's designation of the MSM as the "Drive-By Media"), the Drive-By Media is glorifying the enemy.

[El Gato]

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.

That may be, BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW? Were you there when they spoke to their superiors, both military and civilian. While on Active Duty, it's way out of bounds to go public with your dirty laundry. Only in the most extreme of circumstance should it be done, and then it's a matter of falling on your sword, that is resigning OR retiring so that you can say your piece in public Otherwise you say it up the chain. And unless you are in that chain, you don't know what was said to whom.

[El Gato]

Mayaguez incident was handled quickly and efficiently.

ROTFLMAO. Quickly perhaps, efficiently, no way. Lives were lost due to poor planning and execution and the troops on the ground did not rescue the crew, the Cambodians released them.

[NormsRevenge]

http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html

laugh away.

[SuziQ]

rumsfeld has made some critical errors, especially when it comes to troops on the ground.

It has been my understanding that the troop placement has been made based on requests from the Generals, and that they have gotten all the troops for which they've asked.

The Generals interviewed at the time about the supposed troop shortage said that they didn't need any more soldiers there; they'd just become 'targets'.