Rumsfeld says no plan for 'pauses or cease-fires'

Reuters | 3/30/03

[kattracks]

Rumsfeld says no plan for 'pauses or cease-fires'

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Sunday the United States has "no plans for pauses or cease-fires" in its war against Iraq.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," program, Rumsfeld took issue with reports that a pause in war operations could last as much as a month or more.

"We have no plans for pauses or cease-fires or anything else," Rumsfeld said.

[EternalVigilance]

Glad to see Rummy is out there in public today. His enemies, the enemies of our efforts in Iraq, are on the offensive, and he needs to wipe them out while they are exposed. Hope he uses shock and awe.

[sine_nomine]

The recent anti-Rummy stories about his alleged failure to send enough troops, his well deserved blame for us being "bogged down" and "stopped" near Baghdad, the troops without food and water - all point to his overwhelming victories in the Pentegon and in Iraq.

I figure the Clinton era generals are still working with the Clintons to undermine our efforts, to get even with Rummy for doing such a great job, to make Bush look bad.

May I be blunt? I have never seen such an overwhelming victory in such a short time. The oil fields are not burning. The scuds are not flyiing. Israel is not in the war or being attacked. The biggest missile strike in Kuwait so far has been a seersucker missing the target and doing relatively little harm. Baghdad is surrounded. We own air bases in northern and southern Iraq. Barbra Streisand is silent. Saddam and his sons may have reached room temperature. If not, they are shaken and wounded. We have total air supremacy. Our weapons are so superior that the enemy cannot harm us except through deception (pretending to fix a car, surrendering and then shooting), using methods that only work once. Their tanks can hurt our tanks at close range, the journalists say (and I doubt it) but their tanks cannot get near our tanks.

The armed forces have done this after 10 solid years of neglect. Hats off to all these fine people and especially their families. Let us remember to love and admire our military in times of peace and not neglect and underfund them again.

[EternalVigilance]

I agree with every word you said.

I would even go so far as to say that we have already acheived strategic victory in Iraq.

Don't get me wrong. We MUST finish the job. But we control Iraq in a real sense. Not much happening from here out that we don't allow to happen.

[sine_nomine]

Well stated. That is true. Our military is hinting that the crumbling within has already started. In other words, many brave Iraqi leaders are saying, "Holy shi-ite! I would rather turn traitor and live than stay with this corpse Saddam."

I was in favor of invading Iraq and deposing Saddam the first time. People kept explaining to me (patiently, as one does with a small child) that Saddam was needed to stabilize the area. I thought then that one must cut the head off the snake and crush his apparatus. Although Bush Sr. was hated for supporting a recession-causing tax hike, I think people lost respect for him world-wide when he failed to topple Saddam. I will not speculate on his reasons, but it was one of the worst decisions ever, with consequences similar to the diplomacy evidenced at Yalta.

[EternalVigilance]

Once again, I entirely agree.

Weakness and delay can only empower evil.

[cksharks]

On the money my friend. You have grabbed the big brass ring.

[sine_nomine]

The longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer said in "The True Believer" that wars begin when the weak are able to attack the strong. We proved that when we disarmed after WWI (encouraging WWII), after WWII (encouraging Korea), and after Gulf I (ensuring Gulf II).

I liked what Reagan said, something like this, "No one ever picked a fight with Dempsey." We grew so powerful during Reagan's two terms that the Communist Empire crumbled (but did not go away). We had no terrorist attacks in America during Reagan or Bush Sr. We had a string of attacks during Clinton - and I include WTC II as the last blast of flatulence from the Clinton era. Clinton despised the military and invited attacks. How much he was complicit in those attacks is way beyond my pay grade. However, I think he and Lady Macbeth were guilty in one way or another. His international ties go back too far to deny something there. In addition, Clinton was propped up too many times to be explained by his natural gifts, which are limited to chasing young girls and snorting coke.

I am sure that much of the mischief in our foreign affairs is directly related to meddling by Clinton and Carter. They have so much in common - untalented Southern governors who won by accident and deceit, rejected by the voters, bitter and vindictive men who can only find importance in hurting their own country.

[EternalVigilance]

You are a very wise and discerning man.

[uncbob]

You forgot to add
saddam was prevented from flooding the Gulf with oil like he did in 91
and
more importantly
We got accross those bridge before his troops could take them out

[AFPhys]

May I be blunt? I have never seen such an overwhelming victory in such a short time. The oil fields are not burning. The scuds are not flyiing. Israel is not in the war or being attacked. The biggest missile strike in Kuwait so far has been a seersucker missing the target and doing relatively little harm. Baghdad is surrounded. We own air bases in northern and southern Iraq. Barbra Streisand is silent. Saddam and his sons may have reached room temperature. If not, they are shaken and wounded. We have total air supremacy. Our weapons are so superior that the enemy cannot harm us except through deception (pretending to fix a car, surrendering and then shooting), using methods that only work once. Their tanks can hurt our tanks at close range, the journalists say (and I doubt it) but their tanks cannot get near our tanks.

Very, very nice exposition. I agree wholeheartedly with the exception of a very few minor additions posted to you above.

[sine_nomine]

I wrote: "The oil fields are not burning." But much more could be said. I am not an expert, just a non-military observer of the scene. Our armed forces are amazing. I hope the politicians are their equal in courage. W is but I know the Demon_rats are appeasers, defeatists, and in many cases traitors.