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I think it's reached the time where Rumsfeld has to resign. From this article, it's apparent the military has lost all confidence in Rumsfeld.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060414/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc_11
Rumsfeld is losing his war against retired generals 6-1, so far (and DeLong's full statement still carried the caveat that the military could have used more troops in Iraq).
If this were just retired Army generals, you could think there's more to the story than just Iraq. The Army has disliked Rumsfeld ever since the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review that emphasized a lighter, faster force designed for the types of battles the military had fought in the last couple decades before Iraq (the high tech Air Force and Navy haven't complained about Rumsfeld). The large, heavy armies capable of invading and holding and securing occupied territories were considered obsolete by Rumsfeld (i.e. - the kind of war we're fighting in Iraq). Rumsfeld really ticked off the Army by making a retired Navy captain the Secretary of the Army (Rumsfeld's Man).
Instead, it's about a 50-50 mix between retired Army and Marine generals - the two services carrying the bulk of the load in Iraq.
You could say the generals' comments would carry more weight if they had had the courage to make those comments while on active duty. Army Gen Shinsecki had the courage to publicly state he thought we needed a lot more troops to keep peace in Iraq and it effectively ended his career - rightfully so. Whatever the fight put up behind closed doors, it's inappropriate for active duty generals to go around their civilian authority via the news media. In a normal situation, generals making disparaging comments so soon after retiring may not technically fall in the area of undermining civilian authority, but it would be seen as poor taste, at least.
The fact that it's turning into a parade of retired generals that barely wait until they're outside the door to attack Rumsfeld is hopefully as close to military coup as the US ever gets (The Revolt Against Rumsfeld). I think it's clear Rumsfeld isn't capable of leading the military anymore.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060414/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc_11
Rumsfeld is losing his war against retired generals 6-1, so far (and DeLong's full statement still carried the caveat that the military could have used more troops in Iraq).
If this were just retired Army generals, you could think there's more to the story than just Iraq. The Army has disliked Rumsfeld ever since the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review that emphasized a lighter, faster force designed for the types of battles the military had fought in the last couple decades before Iraq (the high tech Air Force and Navy haven't complained about Rumsfeld). The large, heavy armies capable of invading and holding and securing occupied territories were considered obsolete by Rumsfeld (i.e. - the kind of war we're fighting in Iraq). Rumsfeld really ticked off the Army by making a retired Navy captain the Secretary of the Army (Rumsfeld's Man).
Instead, it's about a 50-50 mix between retired Army and Marine generals - the two services carrying the bulk of the load in Iraq.
You could say the generals' comments would carry more weight if they had had the courage to make those comments while on active duty. Army Gen Shinsecki had the courage to publicly state he thought we needed a lot more troops to keep peace in Iraq and it effectively ended his career - rightfully so. Whatever the fight put up behind closed doors, it's inappropriate for active duty generals to go around their civilian authority via the news media. In a normal situation, generals making disparaging comments so soon after retiring may not technically fall in the area of undermining civilian authority, but it would be seen as poor taste, at least.
The fact that it's turning into a parade of retired generals that barely wait until they're outside the door to attack Rumsfeld is hopefully as close to military coup as the US ever gets (The Revolt Against Rumsfeld). I think it's clear Rumsfeld isn't capable of leading the military anymore.
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