Forum: Department of Offense

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | June 15, 2003 | Dan Simpson

[mark502inf]

Donald Rumsfeld wants to shake up the military. But he's crossed the line from reformer to destroyer, says Dan Simpson, and is becoming a liability for the Bush administration.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is crude. He could also be described as arrogant, although that word sometimes carries with it a sense of wise, overriding leadership. An argument can be made that Rumsfeld's behavior at home and abroad is now such that he represents a serious losing card for the Bush administration and the United States -- and that he should go.

[mark502inf]

Unfortunately a pretty accurate characterization of Rumsfeld.

[Texas_Dawg]

Dumb.

[wimpycat]

Dan Simpson, a retired U.S. ambassador

Oh, from the State department, not Defense. Under...ahhh..which president?

[mark502inf]

Exactly, amazing that someone as smart as Rumsfeld could behave in a way that is as you put it, so "Dumb".

[BlueLancer]

"Rumsfeld a Destroyer ..."

Okay, which one?

[dagar]

The writer fails to think (or write) that it is an effort, which has been underway since his start as SecDef in 2001, to root out the (for lack of a better phase) establishment POLs that run around with stars on their shoulder. Transformation is not easy, for our Federal gov't nor the DoD which is a akin to a despotic gov't (that defends a free society, food for thought...).

Besides, the Army CoS retiring is a know enemy of Rummy and worked dilligently to thwart him from starting the tranformation (from Cold War to WoTerror). The demise of the Crusader, ~12Billion, was a pet project of that said enemy of Rummy. Killing the Crusader was balsy and a good thing -- totally worthless for the types of war we now engage in.

So what he wrote is true -- from a certain point of view, which is not one I buy as complete.

[steve8714]

Doesn't matter...State Dep't careerist all over this.
A lot of guys got wounded twice in Vietnam...most weren't lifers like Shinseki, but draftees like my cousin Mike, who got killed. Honorable service to be sure, but not a guarantee of later wisdom, or evidently of knowing who is the boss and who is NOT the boss.

[dagar]

I prefer the ImpStarDeuce :)

[Texas_Dawg]

He has been, hands down, the star of this administration. No one else even comes close.

[wimpycat]

Dan Simpson was Ambassador to several African countries, most recently under the Clinton Administration.

[Reeses]

he thought the Iraq project might require as many as several hundred thousand U.S. troops. ... Gen. Shinseki turned out to be right.

What war did this author watch? Rumsfeld will go down in history as the man behind one of the most successful blitzkreigs ever and a turning point in modern military strategy. Gen. Eric K. Shinseki was very wrong and should be put out to pasture.

[isthisnickcool]

"Rumsfeld a Destroyer, not a Reformer???"

"Sounds fine with me." Says Arnold. "Anyone seen Gray Davis? I have a surprise for him...."

[AmishDude]

Google searches are uncovering that he was ambassador to Mobutu's Zaire (physician, heal thyself!) in 1996-1997 but I don't know if he's a careerist or was appointed by virtue of being a loyal Dem activist. I have my suspicions, though.

[wimpycat]

He was also "special envoy" to Somalia under Clinton, I think.

[Servant of the Nine]

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is crude.

Give me a break.

Anyone who has seen one of his press conferences knows he is probably the slickest person in Washington.
If the brass is getting their widdle egos all bent, then they are more delicate than the press corps, which he excoriates in charming style.

Is he turning the military upside down?

I hope so.
The cold war ended.
The electronic warfare era finally arived.
Our national defense needs changed completely.

And the brass just wanted to keep on with what they knew, preparing for the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact to pour its armoured divisions thru the Fulda Gap.

So9

[Lightnin]

Isn't it interesting that his affiliations were not mentioned in his background bio.

[Joe Boucher]

Rumsfield is one of the very few folks in govt. today that I would trust for any reason. He is intelligent and not full of crap. He is not going to B.S. you. He will tell you when you are wrong and why. He will not skirt issues to not step on toes. He is doing his job better then anyone I've seen do it.

[Cicero]

As I recall, Shinseki is a clintonoid stooge who couldn't think of anything better to do with his time than to impose the famous beret fiasco on our armed forces.

[moyden2000]

A load of Bush-hating blather ...

[chilepepper]

This article and who wrote it makes me admire Rummy even more ...

...you can tell how effective someone is by how many oxen they gore, shibboleths they break, and sacred cows they run over...

this Simpson guy sounds like a clinton butt licking wanker to me.