Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

W. House backs Rumsfeld as generals demand he resign
Reuters ^ | April 14 2006 | Steve Holland

Posted on 04/13/2006 3:15:15 PM PDT by jmc1969

The White House gave a new vote of confidence to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday as yet another retired general demanded Rumsfeld resign.

"Yes, the president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

A fifth retired general, Major Gen. John Riggs, added his voice to those opposing Rumsfeld. In an interview with National Public Radio, Riggs cited an atmosphere of "arrogance" among top civilian leaders at the Pentagon.

Rumsfeld "should step aside and let someone step in who can be more realistic," he said.

Of the Pentagon's civilian leadership, Riggs said: "They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that's a mistake, and that's why I think he should resign."

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni kept up the pressure for Rumsfeld's scalp by telling CNN Rumsfeld should be held accountable for a series of blunders, starting with "throwing away 10 years worth of planning, plans that had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq."

"I think he should (resign). This is not personal, believe me. We grew up in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting your mistakes and learning from them was critical to us," Zinni said.

A recently retired two-star general, Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the Germany-based 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, called on Wednesday for Rumsfeld to resign.

(Excerpt) Read more at in.today.reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bush43; dod; flagrankbabies; praise; rumsfeld; secdef
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-149 next last
To: Owen

There are a LOT of active duty with no use or respect for Rumsfeld. And with most of the officer core Republican (roughly 90%), it isn't likely they are all democrat plants. In the O-4/5 range, I'd say about 50% dislike Rumsfeld, but that percentage is growing.

One needs to accept the possibility, at least, that some of these guys care about the US and are speaking out because Rumsfeld is not doing an acceptable job.


61 posted on 04/13/2006 4:41:12 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]

To: starfish923
But, demanding Rumsfield's resignation? I dunno.

If Zinni and Riggs are right, then Rumsfeld should resign. But neither you nor I know for sure if they are right.

62 posted on 04/13/2006 4:44:15 PM PDT by jude24 ("The Church is a harlot, but she is my mother." - St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: Mr Rogers

You either oppose the Democrats taking power and ALL of their machinations or you do not. If you do not, leave.

There is no room for equivocation. A daily mantra is ORCHESTRATED. If there were genuine motivations, the place to complain would be directly to the president. Going public, loudly, is for one reason and one reason only. To advance the Democrat strategy.


63 posted on 04/13/2006 4:52:33 PM PDT by Owen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: jmc1969
Uh oh.

"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."

64 posted on 04/13/2006 4:54:30 PM PDT by ItsForTheChildren (Start the Chihuahua Airlift now!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jude24
If Zinni and Riggs are right, then Rumsfeld should resign. But neither you nor I know for sure if they are right.

True, they MAY be right. If they are, then he should indeed retire. You and I DON'T know if they are right or not. No argument from me there.

The generals just THINK they are right....there's the rub. I AM acquainted with two former generals, 2-star, and they DO tend to think that they simply CANNOT be wrong about anything.

65 posted on 04/13/2006 4:56:45 PM PDT by starfish923 (Socrates: It's never right to do wrong.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: vbmoneyspender

Aren't they in the same category as "retired" presidents and with about the same credibility? Think Carter, for example.


66 posted on 04/13/2006 4:57:24 PM PDT by Paulus Invictus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: vbmoneyspender

Aren't they in the same category as "retired" presidents and with about the same credibility? Think Carter, for example. One must wonder how many of these military types are registered RATs?


67 posted on 04/13/2006 4:58:07 PM PDT by Paulus Invictus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Non-Sequitur; xarmydog

I have a great story about General Joulwan.

I was a brand spanking new 2LT attending the Army's Air Assault Course. Next to me on my stick was one PFC Joulwan, who sweated it out along me through the course.

At the graduation ceremony, there's a brief interruption in the pinning of the wings part, when a 2 star heads to my stick to pin the wings on his son. Naturally I froze to death.

Afterwards all I could tell PFC Joulwan was: You son of...you didn't tell me your dad was a General!

Great guys both.


68 posted on 04/13/2006 5:03:52 PM PDT by cll (Carthage must be destroyed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: jude24

"If Zinni and Riggs are right, then Rumsfeld should resign. But neither you nor I know for sure if they are right."

Not necessarily. Zinni and Riggs could be right and Rumsfeld could be right. All we really know is what we have been told. Rumsfeld may have had to look into several aspects of this war that Zinni and Riggs had no responsibility for, and maybe no knowledge.

Without knowing all of the facts that went into making these decisions we can not know if Rumsfeld did well in a bad situation, or poorly in a good situation.


69 posted on 04/13/2006 5:24:24 PM PDT by mjaneangels@aolcom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: Owen

Guess we disagree.


70 posted on 04/13/2006 5:56:21 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: jmc1969

I wonder how many of these generals Rumsfeld asked to resign.


71 posted on 04/13/2006 5:58:13 PM PDT by usmcobra (Those that are incited to violence by the sight of OUR flag are the enemies of this nation.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cll
I was assigned to accompany two tanks during a Reforger exercise in Germany in 1975.I was in charge of two armored personnel carriers,one with my squad,and one full of German soldiers who spoke no English.I spoke what would be called bar German and needless to say,the other half of our communications consisted of charades.The tankers were not to friendly as the units never got along.Being in charge,it was my duty to change the CEOI at midnight,as no one else could.I was dog tired and gave explicit instructions to be awoke at 11:30 to check on things and make sure I was alert enough to change frequency's.Prior to that,I had posted two German soldiers in a tree stand in the middle of a field for watch,while we parked in the wood line and set up.Well,sure enough,I awake and it is 6:00 in the morning!Everyone is asleep!And the tankers are gone!Since I had been asleep,I had no idea what frequency to be on.I look out in the field,and sure enough,the two German soldiers were still in the deer stand.Only one problem.The enemy is setting up an 8.2 mortar platoon right there.I know right then that I am around 5 miles behind enemy lines and am trying to think what the heck to do.[Besides my court martial].I had no idea where any one from my unit was,as I had no way to know what channel they were on.So,I send a German soldier out to get the men in the deer stand with instructions not to arouse any suspicion.Mean while,all the men are going nuts wondering what to do.I did not have a clue.When the German soldiers came back to the vehicles,[no one notices!]I load everyone up,and come charging out of the wood line,shooting,and hauling butt out of there.We get down the road and pull over as I was trying to get through to someone to no avail.That started a 3 day journey behind enemy lines,and every time we came upon them we just attacked.We must have covered every inch of Germany attempting to find friendly forces.I had been putting fuel in those APCs out of my pocket,and I was writing IOUs to the men when I ran out.Then,driving down the road,out of the brush comes this LTC.wearing a 45.,waving me down.I knew then we had been'killed',as he was on the other side.He asked me,"What the hell are you doing"?I started with the name,rank and serial number stuff,all the while he was shaking his head.He said I had been raising hell with his unit and wanted to know what unit I was from.I told him my Battalion commanders name and he broke out laughing.They were very good friends,so he made me a deal.He said he would not 'kill'me,and he would give me the grids to my Battalion HQ.on one condition.I had to send him a message.I thought that was not a bad deal all things considered.Little did I know,the message would be written on the side of my APC in grease pencil,in large letters!Joulwan says hello!So I head back thinking how much jail time I was gonna get.It was late at night when I finally arrived,and sure enough,the butt chewin started.LTC.O:Shea started to get on to me until I told him about the message.We went outside,and after he read it,he laughed so hard I thought he was going to die!You can not imagine my relief!He gave me the grids to my unit,and I was gone back to finish the rest of the exercise.About 2 weeks after we had returned from the exercise,I was given a commendation that was unbelievable.It went along the lines of singlehandedly destroying 11 tanks,8.2 mortar platoon,and on and on.It was my turn to laugh my ass off!General Joulwan is a great man in my book.I was just glad I didn't get into trouble!
72 posted on 04/13/2006 6:11:46 PM PDT by xarmydog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: jude24

They were in a better position than we to know if Rumsfeld bungled the Iraq occupation and reconstruction.

Not necessarily.


73 posted on 04/13/2006 6:17:52 PM PDT by Dec31,1999 (www.thehousingbubbleblog.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: jmc1969
W. House backs Rumsfeld as generals demand he resign

Make that EX-generals. These "former" generals are people who were unable to adapt to the new types of challenges facing us. It is understandable that they think Rumsfeld is fighting an unconventional war, we are facing an unconventional enemy.

If World War II starts up again these former generals know exactly how to fight it. Otherwise we should consider the source.

74 posted on 04/13/2006 6:22:04 PM PDT by oldbrowser (We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow......R.R)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: xarmydog

Just another great day in the Army!

God Bless.


75 posted on 04/13/2006 6:48:52 PM PDT by cll (Carthage must be destroyed)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: jude24
Good evening.
"They know what they are talking about."

You just don't know that. They climbed a ladder that began to get political when they became officers.

They punched their tickets and made their bones under clinton and all spent time in CENTCOM and the Pentagon during the same era.

They might be professional warriors or they might be political hacks. In either case, they are trying to lend authority to the DemocRATS and their anti war movement and to hurt us in time of war.

You give them the benefit of the doubt if you want. I don't.

Michael Frazier
76 posted on 04/13/2006 7:32:56 PM PDT by brazzaville (no surrender no retreat, well, maybe retreat's ok)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 56 | View Replies]

To: demlosers
It is of interest to note that most of the Generals who have complained in the past about there not being enough troops were of the faction that said it'd take 6-9 months just to get to Baghdad, with many thousands of KIAs. ...and then the occupation would begin. These Generals were pretty clearly shown to be wrong.

Shinseki was one of them, though IIRC he was graceful and pleased that the other plan worked out.

77 posted on 04/13/2006 8:00:44 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: jmc1969
Yeah, sure. A few liberal whacko generals spew the usual idiotic line and... wouldn't you know! Why, they're not only experts as to all things military, they also somehow reflect current opinion among most ex-generals.

Leave it to Reuters to spew stupidities. It's what they do best, at least when they aren't busy being apologists for terrorists and tyrants across the globe.

78 posted on 04/13/2006 8:25:39 PM PDT by Reactionary (The Moonbats Need an Enema)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: brazzaville
In either case, they are trying to lend authority to the DemocRATS and their anti war movement and to hurt us in time of war.

See, I don't see things in black-and-white, good-and-evil in the political arena. I'm disillusioned with both major parties (and so am not a Republican either). Being a political independant means I can support the troops, and even the mission, without supporting the cult of personality. Gen. Zinni, for instance, is not anti-war. What he's saying is that, if we're going to salvage this mission and make it a success, it will require some serious strategic changes. If he's right - and unless you're a flag officer, you're not qulified to determine that any more than I am - than he has a moral duty to speak up now that he can do so. It's actually the patriotic thing to do.

Even Emperors need someone to tell them "Remember that thou art mortal." It's not disloyal to tell the President that he's made mistakes - even huge ones.

79 posted on 04/13/2006 9:05:56 PM PDT by jude24 ("The Church is a harlot, but she is my mother." - St. Augustine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: jmc1969
When 1 star, 2, or 3 star generals retire, it is because they were not going to get that next star. So, when a 2 star retires, he was never going to get that 3d one. He has to blame someone, and in the case, the SecDef. All officers, especially generals, want 4 stars. ALL OF THEM.
80 posted on 04/13/2006 9:08:28 PM PDT by RetiredArmy (Politicians are in it for themselves, to get reelected, to benefit them, not we the people.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100 ... 141-149 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson