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December 09, 2007 Anti-War General Flip Flops on the Surge Rick Moran One of the Iraq War's harshest military critics, retired General John Batiste, has changed his mind and come out in support of the new counterinsurgency strategy. In a joint Op-Ed in the Washington Post with Pete Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom, Batiste, who was a board member of the anti-war group Votevets.org, gives some of his reasons for the change of heart: First, the United States must be successful in the fight against worldwide Islamic extremism. We have seen this ruthless enemy firsthand, and its global...

Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste has been asked to leave his post as a CBS News consultant after he participated in an ad criticizing President Bush. In the television ad – sponsored by the VoteVets Action Fund – Batiste declares: "Mr. President, you have placed our nation in peril. Our only hope is that Congress will act now to protect our fighting men and women.” CBS News’ Vice President for Standards and Special Projects, Linda Mason, told CBSNews.com’s Public Eye: "When we hire someone as a consultant, we want them to share their expertise with our viewers. By putting...

Washington: A senior American general who served as a combat commander in Iraq has accused the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, of squandering the lives of United States soldiers by ignoring military advice on how to conduct the campaign. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Major General John Batiste, who resigned last year after 12 months stationed in Iraq's Sunni Triangle, said the Pentagon chief had caused "unnecessary deaths" by committing "strategic blunders of enormous magnitude".

by Mark Finkelstein May 22, 2006 In one fell segment, Chris Matthews pulled back the curtain and revealed his view of America's foreign policy intentions as fundamentally pernicious. For him, the United States in Iraq is no better than a 'colonial master.' Matthews' guest on this evening's 'Hardball' was John Batiste, one of the former generals calling for Donald Rumsfeld's removal as Secretary of Defense. The topic at hand was the failure to anticipate the insurgency with which we have been been faced in Iraq. Describing the miscalculation, Matthews said: "It's like the British coming in to New York at...

WASHINGTON – Crusty and unapologetic, Donald H. Rumsfeld is the public face of an unpopular war and a target of unrelenting criticism. A growing number of commanders who served under him say he has botched the Iraq operation, ignored the advice of his generals and should be replaced. The White House insists the defense secretary retains President Bush's confidence. Few close to the administration expect him to be shown the door. “The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history,” Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday as the administration circled...

MARDIN, Turkey — 1st Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. John Batiste is preparing to plant his headquarters flag about 100 miles from the Iraqi border, as the U.S. military continues preparations for a northern invasion force through Turkey. Batiste, head of the Army’s logistics effort in Turkey, has been leading a 3,500-strong site preparation task force from Incirlik Air Base, just off Turkey’s coast. The move deep into Turkey’s interior is one of the most significant signs that Pentagon war planners have not given up hope on approval of about 62,000 U.S. combat troops to come through Turkey. Establishment of...