Military Times the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, and Marine Corps Times, November 4, 2006,:
It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation’s current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.... Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.
Army Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, an early planner of the war
Months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld forbade military strategists from developing plans for securing a post-war Iraq, the retiring commander of the Army Transportation Corps said Thursday.
In fact, said Brig. Gen. Mark Scheid, Rumsfeld said “he would fire the next person” who talked about the need for a post-war plan.
As part of G2 I was surprised that there was going to be no phase 4 plan, which is why I went on FreeReepublic to talk about it
By the way, putting your faith in anything Scheid has to say is, well, not the best thing in the world to do. Scheid, along with guys like Wesley Clark, are great examples that idiots can get ahead in any organization, even the military.
Mark Scheid is part of a cabal of retired military who have it in for Rummy. They've been making the rounds of talk shows and press conferences for months now. Most of them have had their noses pushed out of joint by Rummy and the neocons, so they have an axe to grind. When they're quoted heavily by all the liberal "peace and justice" groups, they've lost all credibility around here.
Those publications are run by corporations and people who probably hate our military more than love it. They are not publications put out by our military.
I've yet to meet a person who has lost faith in Rumsfeld. You paint with too broad of a brush. Claiming that non-military cannot make an informed decision does not paint you in a good light. Such snobbery does not show you in a good light.
For here, our military is mostly comprised of non-officers, who know the mood of the people and can read the tea-leaves much better than from someone across the pond who does not hold the stars and stripes in high asteem. It is my nation's military that I hold faith in. Pundits and politicians do not hold the pulse of the nation.
You talk about Rumsfeld not planning. Are you aware that the Pentagon and the CIA have contingency plans for military movements involving every corner of the planet? They don't just make up a plan out of whole cloth. There are always years of background information, current statistical analysis and intelligence available at a moment's notice. It is often said that the Pentagon readily has access with the plans necessary to invade CANADA.
It is this type of preparation that helps keep rogue states guessing. Do you think the Pentagon wrote up plans for Iraq in the two months leading up to it? Do you doubt that Iran KNOWS we have the necessary options on the books and could strike at a moments' notice?