Rummie was a great secdef because he was not afraid to make a decision. Stunning, historically fast Afghan and Iraqi victories are part of his legacy. The plan for Iraqi reconstruction also falls on his watch. The building blocks for that new government were not bad at all.
Where Rummie got bogged down was with the insurgency. Now, I'm personally convinced that if the mainstream media had not shrilly supported and underwritten the insurgency, rather than be loyal to their own troops, I think the cordon/conquer/control plan would have worked. It was weakened by the MSM giving continual hope to the insurgency.
Therefore, any new plan that will work MUST be one in which the MSM's impact is neutralized.
But, it must also be on that leads to winning.
Do your really think our MSM has that much influence over the insurgents? Wouldn't they all be watching Al Jazeerah?