quote:Pressure is growing on US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with more retired generals calling for him to resign over the Iraq war.
The White House has said it is happy with the way Mr Rumsfeld is handling his job and the situation in Iraq.
But the backing comes as the number of retired generals calling for him to be replaced has risen to six.
This has been getting daily coverage as the number of generals calling for resignation grows.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Compare Desert Storm with The Iraq War.
Who do you think of when you think of Desert Storm? General Colin Powell and General Schwartcoff.
How did they become its representatives? By being featured as competent, political free, professional soldiers doing their job.
Who do you think of when you think of The Iraq War?
President Bush and to a lesser extent, Rumsfeld.
How did they become its representatives? By making the war political and by drowning out their generals and over controlling the media involved.
President Bush the Elder did not pull any political stunts when the war ended. President Bush the Younger landed in a military aircraft on an aircraft carrier and made sure all the camera's were on him as he said "hey, look at me, the war president."
President Bush the Elder referred to his commanding Generals by name, and sent the press to talk to them. President Bush the Younger mentions "Our Generals" by rarely names them.
Rumsfeld rewards those generals who push the political line, and fires those who question them. That is why only retired generals can come out and call for his resignation.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Bush the younger got a second term. Bush the Elder didn't.
In the larger game, I think that was the lesson learned within the GOP by the example of George Herbert Walker Bush. And by GOP, I really mean the Presidental authority crowd of Cheney, Rove and the rest of them who engineered this most recent ascendancy.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
I think that the comments made by the recently retired generals that had been in charge of the 1st Infantry Division and the 82nd Airborne are the most telling.
Both seem to point at the "corporate" nature that the Pentagon has taken on. I really believe that it is at the root of the current fiasco and is a direct reflection of Bush the younger's past.
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
See, now I'm curious-- if Rumsfeld is removed, who might take his place?
--j_k
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
The one most consistent feature of this administration is that they never admit they were wrong and they never back down. Rumsfield won't resign or be fired unless he's caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
Apparently the white house has issued words of support with regard to Rumsfeld, saying he's doing a fine job.
...If precedent holds, Rumsfeld is doomed.
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: The one most consistent feature of this administration is that they never admit they were wrong and they never back down.
And, you know, that's what frightens me the most about the current administration. People who cannot or will not admit that they are ever wrong are dangerous, plain and simple.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Admitting that you were wrong is the first step to fixing anything. Which is exactly why the Bush team keeps digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole in Iraq.
One of the first things you learn in orienteering is continually check, recheck and make course corrections as you proceed. If your initial course is off by even a tiny degree, you will end up very far from your intended goal unless you recognize the mistake and correct.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:Admitting that you were wrong is the first step to fixing anything.
While I'm certainly no fan of the Administration, I need to point out that admitting that you were wrong to yourself can meet this criteria, even if you refuse to admit it -- or even actively deny it -- to other people.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Nope, the GOP learned by the Reagan example: lie, and keep telling bigger lies to coverup the previous lies. One can alway rely on the crooks placed into federal judgeships to overturn any conviction.
If Rumsfeld goes, it'll be a political "take one for the Gipper" like Poindexter. Though in this case, the beneficiaries will be Dubya and the Congressional Republicans up for reelection. And like Poindexter, Rumsfeld will be rewarded far beyond even his own avarice for doing so.
[ April 14, 2006, 04:23 PM: Message edited by: aspectre ]
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
Wow, I have today's NYT right next to me and on the front page are pictures of 6 of the retired generals* who are calling for him to step down.
To me, this is extremely significant. Here are people who are the absolute experts in the field of warfare demanding that he retire or at least account for his mistakes. Perhaps he may be a public scapegoat, but these accusations seem very serious since they are from his 'peers' and their complaints have empirical basis besides a general dissatisfaction with the war.
I can't believe Bush et. al are not investigating this seriously or at least responding to it in a form that's not a blustering defense. I think that is being disrespectful to the American public and the military officials.
*I thought generals couldn't retire, and have to be on permanent inactive reserve?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
With this administration, he could be gone by next week.
Bush goes from saying his administration needs no changes to getting rid of Andy Card like a week later. There is also talk of replacing Scott Mcclellan, which I can only hope is true. I almost miss the smugness of Ari Fleisher.
Anyway, I have no doubt that Bush will kick pretty much anyone to the curb to save himself, including Rumsfeld. If in the end he can dump all the failures on Rumsfeld, I'm betting he'll do it.
Heck of a job Rummy.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Oh I dunno, being a self-described rummy has helped Dubya. It's amazing how ~40% of folks can still think of Dubya as doing a good job based solely on his claim of ignorance inregard to what his personally-appointed underlings were up to, using his authority, doing in his name. And how his minions take nearly all the heat for the DubyaAdministration's goof-ups:
quote:Rumsfeld is the chief villain of a very influential new book, "Cobra II," by retired Marine Corps Gen. Bernard Trainor...In their detailed, thorough accounting of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Rumsfeld is shown badgering the reluctant but mostly quiescent generals into attacking with as few troops as possible... ...But right after the invasion he signed off on orders by the American proconsul, Paul Bremer, to disband the Iraqi Army and fire most of the top civil servants; leaving the country vulnerable to chaos and a growing insurgency.
The Reagan defense once again: I don't know because I wasn't told anything. And if I was told something, I don't remember it. The Presidency is the most important job there is, so you can't expect a president to know anything or remember anything.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
It's amazing you think you have an inkling of understanding about why people might think President Bush is doing a good job. It's not "solely" based on ANYTHING you've stated here.
Please stop throwing around your BS accusations about what others think. It's getting beyond tiresome.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Sorry. Didn't realize I left the misimpression that someone who could support Dubya's performance after his 5+years in Office is capable of thinking.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Wow. You really are trying to act like an ass, aren't you?
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Like I said before: When somebody tosses a straight line at me, it's hard to resist trying to keep the burlesque act going.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
You don't seem to need a straight line to be insulting.