Retired Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers talks about Sec. Rumsfeld ["the pundits get it wrong"]

U.S. Department of Defense ^ | Nov. 9, 2006 | Gen. Richard B. Myers

[68skylark]

I know a lot of you weren't fans of Sec. Rusfeld.

I'm a big fan, and I'm sorry he's leaving.

[My2Cents]

Ditto that. Anyone have a sense of whether Gates will continue the process of dragging the military into the 21st Century?

[HiJinx]

Ditto...

[fatnotlazy]

I liked the guy too. Felt he was made the scapegoat for anything that was "wrong" in Iraq and did not get the credit for all the good things.

[vimto]

I think he is good man and was frustrated on a lot of levels regarding the Iraq War. He did his very best and should be thanked. His willingness to go with dignity to allow Bush room for maneuver was also important.

[Bahbah]

I know a lot of you weren't fans of Sec. Rusfeld.

Well, that would not include me. Every once in a while, during the particulary bad times, I would send an email message to the DOD in support of the SecDef. I don't know if he ever saw any of them, but I felt good about it anyway.

[K-oneTexas]

I agree. I'm a fan and I'm sorry he is leaving. On the good side his 'Rummyisms' will be around to enjoy for a long while. I don't think we will see another man with the stamina and the work ethic of the SECDEFs for a long while.

[Zakeet]

General Myers is also a class act.

He graduated from K-State in the late 60's and, as I understand it, recently returned to the faculty there.

Glad to see him set the record straight on Rummy.

[JustaCowgirl]

He has had many opportunities to deflect the arrows coming his way to the military. Many opportunities. He’s never taken one of those opportunities. If you go back and read a little bit about Abu Ghraib and people wanting to place blame, it would have been easy for the Secretary of Defense to deflect it to the Department, to individuals. He never did that. He sucked up all those arrows and continued to lead the Department in the way that he knew was right.

Bravo, General Myers. And thanks for being a great American and a standup fellow just like Mr. Rumsfeld.

[big'ol_freeper]

He wasn't perfect, but did a damn good job and we all will be forever grateful.

In my mind his one mistake was a doosy. His fatal flaw was buying into Air Force propaganda that wars can be won solely by application of devastating strategic air power. There has always been a struggle between the AF and Army/Marine Corps concerning that particular theory, but starting with AF CoS Gen McPeak, the theory really began to be in vogue despite the objections of the ground services. Budgets reflected that buy in. It was very apparent, well before 9/11 that Rumsfeld bought into that theory. He had very little use for the advice of senior Army and Marine Corps officers who ended up being correct in their assessments. One more division (thank you Turkey) would likely have snuffed out the insurgency before it could start, since there would not have been a axis of escape and we could have controlled the Iraq/Syrian border.

Despite the miscalculation, Secretary Rumsfeld's ability to battle the insurgency and move toward success in Iraq and in the war on terror has been awesome. He is well respected by almost all who wear/have worn the uniform.

[PhiKapMom]

I thought Rumsfeld did a very good job up until General Myers retired and Bush put in the Marine Corps general. General Myers and Rumsfeld made a great team IMHO.

The current Chairman does not work well with the Air Force or the Navy unlike General Myers who worked well with all of the services. General Myers was a total class act, still is, and hope someday to see him as Secretary of Defense or in some capacity in a Republican Administration in 2009.

[brazzaville]

Good afternoon.
"I'm a big fan, and I'm sorry he's leaving."

I'm happy he is leaving, but for him not for us.

It will be good for him to not have to put up with what the Left has put him through. We and our war fighters will feel his absence.

Luck to Rummy and the nation.

Michael Frazier

[Humal]

"He has had many opportunities to deflect the arrows coming his way to the military. Many opportunities. He’s never taken one of those opportunities."

I have wondered if his resignation was the President's way of deflecting the arrows that were sure to come Rummy's way with the new Congress. Sec. Rumsfield has been taking a lot of heat for years, but it would have been even worse now.

[brazzaville]

Good afternoon.
"One more division (thank you Turkey) would likely have snuffed out the insurgency before it could start..."

I believe history will see our loss of the use 4th ID in the beginning of the war was ultimately devastating.

Michael Frazier

[Grampa Dave]

Thank you for posting this.

This is an excellent rejoiner to the arm chair generals and admirals here on FR, who want to fight WWII and the Cold War over again with an enemy who is there yesterday, here today and somewhere else tomorrow.

[TChris]

I know a lot of you weren't fans of Sec. Rusfeld.

I'm a big fan, and I'm sorry he's leaving.

Ditto that.

[68skylark]

I believe history will see our loss of the use 4th ID in the beginning of the war was ultimately devastating.

I take the other view. The culture in the Middle East is horrible -- a rancid mix of rage, passivity, self-pity, ignorance and misogyny. One more division in Iraq wouldn't have put a dent in a 5,000 year history of barbarity.

I think a lot of Americans really underestimate how truly ^&$%#ed up the rest of the world really is.

[GarySpFc]

Myers graduated from K-State in 1964. I happen to know that, because he is a high school classmate of mine. The man is a class act from beginning to end. Even back then he constantly talked about going in the air force.

I'm also a big fan of Rumsfield, another class act.

[Wuli]

The public perception of Rummy - created for the media by the American leftists and their Dimorat friends - is so far from the actual man that they are two different people.

As I said in another post today - the two huge, immensely important, immensley current priorities of (1) the transformation of our defense establishment and (2) the war in Iraq could have, in my book, only been undertaken simultaneously by Rummy.

At the same time, and as well as Rummy did with trying to keep the defense establishment moving on both tracks, they both suffered somewhat and, in my mind, it was unavoidable and while unavoidable was responsible for some of the errors in Iraq.

[docman57]

2 Tenures as SecDef, both times spent modernising the Military. Granted he bought into the Air Power wins all theory, but still did alot to bring the Army/Navy/Marines up to modern standards this last go around. Very warm and genuine to the troops for those who have not had the Pleasure. I'm gonna miss him.