Secretary Of Defense Rumsfeld

It has been suggested by many in the congress, that The administration's actions in attacking Iraq, and the ensuing disastrous war, might be deemed "criminal". Amoung those accused is former Bush Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

In a column I wrote for Xombe, yesterday, December 11, 2006, I was critical of Rumsfeld. Today, I refer to the critizism of Rumsfeld by America's hard-core Generals.

In sharp contrast to usual military policy, among officers, several Army Generals made, during the summer of 2006, strong statements demanding the resignation of Department of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Here is a condensation of a statement by Lieutenant Gen Neubold, early in the matter:
(Lieutenant General Neubold voiced objections to the handling of the Iraq invasion, then retired.)
"To those of you who don't know, our country has never been served by a more competent and professional military. For that reason, 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. "
"The willingness of our forces to shoulder such a load should make it a sacred obligation for civilian and military leaders to get our defense policy right. They must be absolutely sure that the commitment is for a cause as honorable as the sacrifice."
General Neibold lists policy failures, and mis-steps:
"The distortion of Intelligence in the buildup to the war."
"Mismanagement that kept our forces from having enough resources to do the job."
"The failure to retain and reconstitute the Iraqi military in time to help quell civil
disorder."
"The initial denial that an insurgency was the heart of the opposition to Occupation."
(Note: an recent article defined "Insurgency": A civilian with a gun in a pickup truck.)
to continue:
"Alienation of allies who could have helped in a more robust way to rebuild Iraq."
And,
".. the continuing failure of other agencies of our government to commit assets to the same degree as the Defense Department."
"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."
"Former Army Chief of Staff General Shinseki..suggested that more troops might be needed for the invasions aftermath. The Defense Secretary, and Deputy Secretary of Defense castigated him in public and marginalized him in his remaining months in his post."

"What is to be done? ...(is) as a first step, replacing Rumsfeld and many others. ..we need people in Washington who can construct a unified strategy."
Fro the Chicago Tribune: An article by Mark Silva at the Washington Bureau:
"The officers falling out with Rumsfeld began over the defense Departments treatment of retired Army General Eric Shinseki, who said, at a congressional hearing, that several hundred thousand troops would be needed to occupy Iraq."
More:
" (quoted)...retired Generals...accusing Rumsfeld of mishandling the U S. led invasion of Iraq, in deploying too few troops, .. and the post invasion struggle, in underestimating the threat of an insurgency."
Major General Swannack:
".. I really believe we need a new Secretary of defense."
Major General John batiste (ret) , Wednesday called for the resignation of defense Secretary Rumsfeld.
Army Major General John Rigs told National Public Radio that Rumsfeld fostered an "Atmosphere of arrogance".

To repeat from yesterdays column:
From the Chicago Sun Times, April 16, 2006:
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "was personally involved in the late 2002 interrogation of an high value Al-Qaida detainee..the 20th hijacker..
"He communicated weekly with the man in charge of the investigation, Major General Geoffrey Miller, commander of the Guantanamo Bay Detention center, an Army inspector generals report shows."
In the same period detainee Mu hammed Al-Kahtan was forced to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, forced to wear women's underwear, and perform "dog tricks' on a leash, for 18 to 20 hours/day, for 48 of 54 days.