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Why the hell does this guy still have a job? Please someone give me one good reason he should still be in office. Sorry if something like this has been posted before.
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Retired general: ‘Uplifting’ if Rumsfeld removed
Six former senior officers have publicly called for change due to Iraq
WASHINGTON - A retired Army general on Friday continued the volleys of criticism against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his handling of the Iraq war, telling NBC News that “a fresh start in the Department of Defense ... would be incredibly uplifting” for the armed forces.
Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq until last November, appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to reiterate criticisms he leveled earlier this week.
Batiste said Rumsfeld had “failed to build the peace” in Iraq, and criticized “a leadership style which is intimidating, abusive. There was not a two-way street of respect.”
Whether the United States should be in Iraq in the first place was “moot” given the circumstances, he added. “We have to succeed” now that we are there, he said.
Five other retired generals have also spoken out in recent days against Rumsfeld’s war strategy. Batiste emphasized that the generals were speaking independently and had not organized their criticism. “There is no political agenda at all,” he said, adding that he had not spoken to the other officers.
As the high-ranking officers accused Rumsfeld of arrogance and ignoring his field commanders, the White House defended the man who has been a lightning rod for criticism over a war that has helped drive President Bush’s public approval ratings to new lows.
Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni told CNN that Rumsfeld should be held responsible for a series of blunders, starting with “throwing away 10 years worth of planning, plans that had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq.”
‘Micromanaged the generals’
The spreading challenge to the Pentagon’s civilian leadership included criticism from some recently retired senior officers directly involved in the Iraq war and its planning.
“I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him,” retired Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, who led the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, told CNN on Thursday.
“Specifically, I feel he has micromanaged the generals who are leading our forces,” he said.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs told National Public Radio on Thursday that Rumsfeld had helped create an atmosphere of “arrogance” among the Pentagon’s top civilian leadership.
“They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that’s a mistake, and that’s why I think he should resign,” Riggs said.
Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold and Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton have also spoken out against Rumsfeld.
White House support
The most nettlesome member of Bush’s Cabinet, Rumsfeld has been a lightning rod since the war began in March 2003.
He was blamed for committing too few U.S. troops and for underestimating the strength of the insurgency. He took heat in 2004 over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the U.S. Army-run Abu Ghraib prison, and for a brusque response he gave to an Army National Guard soldier in Kuwait who questioned him on inadequate armor.
Republicans in Congress have offered Rumsfeld little in the way of public support.
But at the White House, the 73-year-old Rumsfeld drew unflinching support. “Yes, the president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Thursday.
The outcry came as opinion polls show eroding public support for the Iraq war in which about 2,360 U.S. troops have died and Bush is struggling to bolster Americans’ confidence in the war effort.
Rumsfeld has offered at least twice to resign, but each time Bush has turned him down.
Six former senior officers have publicly called for change due to Iraq
WASHINGTON - A retired Army general on Friday continued the volleys of criticism against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his handling of the Iraq war, telling NBC News that “a fresh start in the Department of Defense ... would be incredibly uplifting” for the armed forces.
Retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq until last November, appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to reiterate criticisms he leveled earlier this week.
Batiste said Rumsfeld had “failed to build the peace” in Iraq, and criticized “a leadership style which is intimidating, abusive. There was not a two-way street of respect.”
Whether the United States should be in Iraq in the first place was “moot” given the circumstances, he added. “We have to succeed” now that we are there, he said.
Five other retired generals have also spoken out in recent days against Rumsfeld’s war strategy. Batiste emphasized that the generals were speaking independently and had not organized their criticism. “There is no political agenda at all,” he said, adding that he had not spoken to the other officers.
As the high-ranking officers accused Rumsfeld of arrogance and ignoring his field commanders, the White House defended the man who has been a lightning rod for criticism over a war that has helped drive President Bush’s public approval ratings to new lows.
Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni told CNN that Rumsfeld should be held responsible for a series of blunders, starting with “throwing away 10 years worth of planning, plans that had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq.”
‘Micromanaged the generals’
The spreading challenge to the Pentagon’s civilian leadership included criticism from some recently retired senior officers directly involved in the Iraq war and its planning.
“I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him,” retired Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, who led the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, told CNN on Thursday.
“Specifically, I feel he has micromanaged the generals who are leading our forces,” he said.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs told National Public Radio on Thursday that Rumsfeld had helped create an atmosphere of “arrogance” among the Pentagon’s top civilian leadership.
“They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that’s a mistake, and that’s why I think he should resign,” Riggs said.
Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold and Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton have also spoken out against Rumsfeld.
White House support
The most nettlesome member of Bush’s Cabinet, Rumsfeld has been a lightning rod since the war began in March 2003.
He was blamed for committing too few U.S. troops and for underestimating the strength of the insurgency. He took heat in 2004 over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the U.S. Army-run Abu Ghraib prison, and for a brusque response he gave to an Army National Guard soldier in Kuwait who questioned him on inadequate armor.
Republicans in Congress have offered Rumsfeld little in the way of public support.
But at the White House, the 73-year-old Rumsfeld drew unflinching support. “Yes, the president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Thursday.
The outcry came as opinion polls show eroding public support for the Iraq war in which about 2,360 U.S. troops have died and Bush is struggling to bolster Americans’ confidence in the war effort.
Rumsfeld has offered at least twice to resign, but each time Bush has turned him down.
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