[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"But if he/they deserve criticism, he/they should be criticized and we shouldn't apologize for it.....ever."

I agree but to place the blame solely on Rumsfeld is not appropriate.
Congress has been feeding off the military for at least the last 12 years to bolster junk programs like the ESA etc.
That, in my opinion, is where the problem is.
Makes no difference if the Republicans or Democrats are the majority, the result is always the same.

[Elihu Burritt]

Makes no difference if the Republicans or Democrats are the majority, the result is always the same.

You got that right.

They also specialize in re-inventing the wheel. Am I mistaken, or didn't we start in Vietnam with special ops and air support but then get gradually pulled in?

Now we are committing the 'peace' troops in Afghanistan, but they are just what those old boys have really been waiting for. Canadians, Brits, Turks, blue hats. It won't take many flayings for that to turn into an unwelcome business, and all they need to really make life hell is some outsource of new weaponry. Korea maybe through Pakistan or maybe the Chinese set up in some Moslem country. We can't keep the lid on all the fires all the time, especially now that we don't even have two ocean capability as a marker.

Leave it to the Feds to start a bunch of 'fire-breaks' and have one turn into a real burn.