General Dismay

If *any* number of egregious errors of Rumsfeld et. al., as reported by the Generals of our nation's military forces, could *possibly* make the administration's defenders change their mind, I'd like to know how much more it would take than these critics:

• Major General John Batiste, commander of a division in Iraq - "I believe we need a fresh part in the Pentagon."
  
• Marine Lt. General Gregory Newbold, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff - "We need fresh ideas and fresh faces. That means, as a first step, replacing Rumsfeld .."
  
• Army Major General Paul Eaton, overseer of training of Iraqi troops - "Rumsfeld must step down."
  
• General Charles Swannack, Commander 82nd Airborne - "We need a new secretary of defense."
  
• Marine General Anthony Zinni, CENTCOM commander - Asked who should step down "The Secretary of defense to begin with."
  
• Major General Jon Riggs - ">“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.”
  
• Army General Eric Shinseki
  

You can dismiss complaints from Pete, as a partisan against Bush. But I'd urge anyone who cares more about the country and our military men and women to read the extent and breadth of the comments below from generals of our military forces, and tell me then if they don't think Rumsfeld et. al. are a serious, serious problem.

• 'For that reason, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent statement that "we" made the "right strategic decisions" but made thousands of "tactical errors" is an outrage. It reflects an effort to obscure gross errors in strategy by shifting the blame for failure to those who have been resolute in fighting. The truth is, our forces are successful in spite of the strategic guidance they receive, not because of it.' (Newbold)
  
• I think a weakened, fragmented, chaotic Iraq - which could happen if this isn't done carefully - is more dangerous in the long run than a contained Saddam is now ... I don't think these questions have been thought through or answered," (Zinni)
  
• "The cost of flawed leadership continues to be paid in blood. We need fresh ideas and fresh faces, and that means as a first step, replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach." (Newbold)
  
• "In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to America's mission in Iraq. Rumsfeld must step down." (Eaton)
  
• "I think we are paying the price for the lack of credible planning, or the lack of a plan. We're throwing away 10 years worth of planning, in effect, for underestimating the situation we were going to get into, for not adhering to the advice that was being given to us by others, and, I think, getting distracted from Afghanistan and the war on terrorism that we were committed to when we took on this adventure." (Zinni)
  
• "I think we need senior military leaders who understand the principles of war and apply them ruthlessly, and when the time comes, they need to call it like it is. (Swannack)
  
• "We grow up in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting mistakes and learning from them was critical to us. When we don't see that happening it worries us. (Zinni)
  
• "I think that our executive and legislative branches of government have a responsibility to mobilize this country for war. They frankly have not done so. We're mortgaging our future, our children, $8 to $9 billion a month." (Batiste)
  
• "And I believe he has culpability associated with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and, so, rather than admitting these mistakes, he continually justifies them to the press ... and that really disallows him from moving our strategy forward." (Swannack)
  
• "Rumsfeld has put the Pentagon at the mercy of his ego, his Cold Warrior's view of the world and his unrealistic confidence in technology to replace manpower. As a result, the U.S. Army finds itself severely undermanned - cut to 10 active divisions but asked by the administration to support a foreign policy that requires at least 12 or 14." (Eaton)
  
• We just heard the secretary of state say these were tactical mistakes. They were not tactical mistakes. These were strategic mistakes, mistakes of policies made back here." (Zinni)
  
• When they knew the plan was flawed, saw intelligence distorted to justify a rationale for war, or witnessed arrogant micromanagement that at times crippled the military's effectiveness, many leaders who wore the uniform chose inaction. A few of the most senior officers actually supported the logic for war. Others were simply intimidated, while still others must have believed that the principle of obedience does not allow for respectful dissent. The consequence of the military's quiescence was that a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, al-Qaeda, became a secondary effort. (Batiste)
  
• "Only General Eric Shinseki, the army chief of staff when President George W. Bush was elected, had the courage to challenge the downsizing plans. So Rumsfeld retaliated by naming Shinseki's successor more than a year before his scheduled retirement, effectively undercutting his authority. The rest of the senior brass got the message, and nobody has complained since." (Eaton)
  
• "Everyone pretty much thinks Rumsfeld and the bunch around him should be cleared out.” (Riggs)
  
• "I think America's media is being made a scapegoat for what's going on out there. At last count, I think something like 80 journalists have been killed in Iraq." (Zinni)
  
• Rumsfeld himself, responding to Generals saying it would take 200,000 troops to control Iraq after Saddam's downfall: "wildly off the mark...I am reasonably certain that they will greet us as liberators, and that will help us to keep requirements down."
  
• "Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead America's armed forces." (Eaton)