Furthermore, you have things exactly wrong on Rumsfeld, 06 and the politics of it. It was the politics of losing that election that cost Rumsfeld his position as SecDef (because no SecDef could do his job in front of a DEM Congress calling them into committee after committee). Therefor, for the best of our warriors down range GWB and Rumsfeld made the correct decision to have him replaced.
And now Here are some real realities regarding SecDef Rumsfeld. It was Rumsfeld who shoved, pushed and dragged the Big Green (Army) into modernization and I'm not talking simply Stryker's and new hats...
It was SecDef Rumsfeld who demanded an alternative Op plan for Stan (after Sept 11th) instead of the ridiculous Op plan demanded by Gen. Shinzeki and the Big Green. As they declared as the only way to be successful...Which called for 5 Divisions and a 6-8 month build up before we would be able to deal with removing the Taliban and al-Qeade from Stan...(and don't forget the 82nd's demand for bowling alley's before they wanted to play)...
It was SecDef Rumsfeld who demanded for all services to integrate and push the priority of CAS (which has saved thousands of U.S. lives to date...and killed thousands more of the enemy)..
It was also SecDef Rumsfeld who has turned our Shooters from SOCOM loose like never before...(an have routed AQ across the globe including Stand and Iraq) It was Rummy that allowed SOCOM to rid themselves of risk-adverse OGAs for their own Intel gathering.....It was SecDef Rumsfeld who got SOCOM authorized as its own war-fighting command.....(which of course hurt many feelings in the Big Green...as now they are often tasked as "support" for SOCOM...and not the other way around).
SecDef Rumsfeld supported a light footprint doctrine when it made sense. Both in Stan and for the original phase of OIF it made sense to go with the numbers we went with (and many conveniently leave out the fact that the 4th ID sat off shore because State couldn't pull its d*ck out of its own pants once again and make Turkey cooperate).
The reality of what was accomplished throughout this WOT over the last 7 years is historically amazing by any and all reasonable measures....We have not only killed or captured 3/4 + of AQ original Sr leadership, but we have killed tens of thousands of their mid-level foot soldiers (and that of their mimic organizations as well). We have removed two brutal regimes and planted the seeds for an atmosphere to spread allowing for a mass self-deportation away from radical Islam. These seeds of freedom and self-worth are our real true allies in this WOT.
The world is safer today (without question) because of the leadership and changes demanded by SecDef Rumsfeld.
RE :The world is safer today (without question) because of the leadership and changes demanded by SecDef Rumsfeld.
That may be true but that’s hard to sell if our selection for commander and chief (JMcC leader of party) says and runs on the opposite. If you cant get him, you have no one. I agree that Iraq was NOT the sole reason for 06+08losses. My original comment ,that you replied to, cited about 9, although Iraq is a big one. But maybe not as big as this latest mess.
I can tell you I find few republicans (moderates outside of FR) that claim Iraq was not a big black political mark on GWB and hurt republicans badly (mostly McCain supporters). They blame our current fiscal crisis on Iraq spending and believe we never should have got involved.