Posted on 04/22/2006 4:45:37 AM PDT by billorites
The retired generals who bayed for the head of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on a platter made an unseemly spectacle of themselves. Where were they when it counted?
Of course Rumsfeld made mistakes in planning the war in Iraq. We all make mistakes, and we try to correct them when we can. The problem with Rumsfeld was that he refused to correct them; in particular, he refused to admit in the months after the fall of Saddam Hussein that an inadequate U.S. force could not control the country or keep a nasty insurgency from getting organized and spreading.
It is not clear that more troops would be useful now, or that firing Rumsfeld would improve anything.
The half-dozen or so generals after Rumsfeld have no coherent program and no common thread of complaint. At least two had retired before the war started. They opposed the war and still do, and they have every right to do so, but the decision for war was not Rumsfeld’s.
Retired Brig. Gen. James Marks, the top intelligence officer in the war, complained, “We requested the 1st Cavalry Division. That was denied - at a very critical point in the war.” Maybe. The planned movement of the 1st Cav was cancelled on April 21, 2003, which was 16 days after the first “Thunder Run” of U.S. tanks into Baghdad.
Rumsfeld had made clear for months that he would not send units to Iraq for use after the regime fell. If the division was so crucial, why did Gen. Tommy Franks, the overall commander, agree to do without? Why didn’t Marks resign in protest, on Feb. 20 or March 8, key dates in the relevant discussion, or even on April 21? (Franks, also now retired, defends Rumsfeld.)
Retired Maj. Gen John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division during the fighting, whined that Rumsfeld was “a leader who does it with intimidation.” No doubt he does. But the thought of an officer with two stars on his shoulders complaining about intimidation is disconcerting.
It is the duty of military leaders to give their best professional advice and if decisions go against them, to salute and say, “Yes, sir” - unless a decision is absolutely unacceptable. Then they should resign and make clear why.
Moaning about how it turned out three years later is unprofessional.
"Do I think it's purely political?...Political, self-serving, uninformed, ill-informed, opinionated, unfair- I'd probably use all of those. But I'd be quick to tell you Donald Rumsefeld's one of my best friends".... Franks conceded that Rumsfeld is known for being controversial.."I've seen him be awfully rough on a bunch of generals, and you're looking at seven of them on TV", confiding his belief that the generals find it comforting to get together and badmouth the person who gave them a bad time.
"Generals’ complaint arrives too late..."
The complaints weren't "too late", they were too contrived, orchestrated, and obvious...
All these guys have absolutely no credibility, particularly Zinni. He's the CENTCOM Chief in the 90's who insisted upon USS Cole visit to Aden (along with then terrorist czar Richard Clarke) even though the Ambassador in Aden opposed the port call due to high threat.
Zinni is a buffoon, Batiste is a crybaby and acts more like a soldier complaining to his Mom about his dishonorable discharge.
They all are incredibly unmilitary-like, it's hard to believe they ever served.
thanks for the info
The question is asked: why didn't the Generals resign in protest?
Maybe because the guy on the ground in the line of fire doesn't have that option.
Could it be the Generals in question were committed to their men and did the best they could, which would be to remain in post and support the troops they commanded and complain later?
After the revelation of the CIA Clinton Mole and her association with the generals it is abundantly clear that taken together the Generals are in reality a Junta dedicated to bringing down the government.
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