Yet another general has come out publicly to call for Rummy to step down.
Major General John Batiste, commander of the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) in Iraq in 2004-2005, says Rumsfeld's "authoritarian style" is making the job of the military much more difficult. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them," he said. "And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."
You ought to be thinking, assuming that you are a normal, logical, intelligent human being, that if high-ranking general officers, commanders, who were formerly under your leadership are all coming up with the same criticisms, then maybe you ought to be listening to them.
Not our Rummy, though, and not his moron-in-cowboy-boots boss, Baby Doc: Rummy's doin' a heckuva job, and screw those pantywaist generals who say he isn't. They're just professional military men -- what the fuck do they know about running a war?
Jesus, how much more can we take of this maladministration's boot on the neck of the American people? Vote Democratic this fall. Take back the congress and turn it around -- it'll be our turn to put the boots to them.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
How Much More Can We Take?
Posted by Farnsworth68 at 7:34 PM
Posts
3 Comments:
There's an old saying (or maybe it's a fairly new saying):
When one person calls you an ass, you can pretty much ignore him. When several people call you an ass, you should get fitted for a saddle.
I think it's about time Rummy went to a saddle maker.
And to think, I spent an entire summer escorting Saddam's oil tankers through the Straits of Hormuz.
To protect them from Iran, the clear winner of our Iraqi clusterfuck.
Senator John Kerry has been calling for the resignation of Rumsfeld since the 2004 election, and in January, 2005 he posted a petition on johnkerry.com to replace Rumsfeld. The petition was ignored by both the Administration and the MSM (our "fee press" in action).
The following is from a John Kerry e-mail to supporters dated 1/18/05:
"It's a question of competence. Poor planning at the Pentagon is letting American soldiers down. According to the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank, Iraq is now providing the next generation of "professionalized" terrorists with "a training ground, a recruitment ground, [and] the opportunity for enhancing technical skills."2 Our troops need a capable Secretary of Defense. At the very least, they absolutely need that.
I believe that together, the three million of us who worked together on the campaign can help the troops. We not only have a right to speak out against failed Bush policies: we have a duty to defend this country from a President who refuses to recognize the total inadequacy of his own Defense Secretary. That's how democracy works. And that's why America has worked all these years.
The campaign season is over, but our citizenship continues. I know from personal experience that citizens and Senators standing up for the truth can be a powerful combination. Now, with email and the Web as citizenship tools, we can make ourselves heard even more clearly. And I can't tell you how inspired I am that you and I are using these tools to fight side-by-side for the things we believe in.
One more time: please join me in my call for President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. He's the man responsible for the well-being of our troops. He's neglected his duty. He's made excuses. It's time for him to go.
Add your voice to mine in the Senate in calling for President Bush to replace Rumsfeld today.
http://www.johnkerry.com/replacerumsfeld
Thank you,
John Kerry.
_______________________
WHY RUMSFELD HAS TO GO!
1) Rumsfeld Blamed The Troops for Problems in IRAQ
Rumsfeld: "As you know, you have to go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want." [CNN, 12/9/04]
2) Rumsfeld Admitted Bush Administration Was Not Prepared for Iraqi Resistance
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that "I am saying that -- if you had said to me a year ago, 'describe the situation you'll be in today, one year later,' I don't know many people who would have described it -- I would not have described it -- the way it happens to be today. ... I certainly would not have estimated that we would have had the number of individuals lost that we have had lost in the last week." [Rumsfeld News Conference, 4/15/04]
3) Rumsfeld Failed to Equip Troops in Iraq
Army Study Suggests One-Fourth of Casualties in Iraq Could Have Been Prevented If Troops Were Properly-Equipped at Beginning of War. Newsweek reported, "A breakdown of the casualty figures suggests that many U.S. deaths and wounds in Iraq simply did not need to occur. According to an unofficial study by a defense consultant that is now circulating through the Army, of a total of 789 Coalition deaths as of April 15 (686 of them Americans), 142 were killed by land mines or improvised explosive devices, while 48 others died in rocket-propelled-grenade attacks. Almost all those soldiers were killed while in unprotected vehicles, which means that perhaps one in four of those killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had had stronger armor around them, the study suggested. Thousands more who were unprotected have suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of limbs." [Newsweek, 5/3/04]
4) Rumsfeld Failed to Plan for Iraq War
In August 2003, the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepared a secret report assessing the post-war planning for Iraq. The report blamed "setbacks in Iraq on a flawed and rushed war-planning process." It also said "planners were not given enough time" to plan for reconstruction. [Washington Times, 9/3/03]
5) Rumsfeld Failed To Sign Condolence Letters to Families of Soldiers Killed in War on Terror
ABC World News Tonight, "Now on the home front here, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is under fire from some military families and members of the Congress. They're upset that he has used a machine to attach his signature to some letters of condolence. More than a thousand of those letters have been sent to families who have lost sons and daughters in the global war on terror." ABC (Yang) added, "After Ivan Medina's twin brother Irving an Army Specialist was killed in Baghdad last year he got a letter of condolence from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Today, Medina himself a veteran of Iraq said he was angered to learn that Rumsfeld never actually signed the letter or even saw it." Medina: "Our commanders here in the United States who include the President and the Secretary of Defense don't care about the troops. We're just a number to them and that's the wrong message to send back to our troops." Yang: "In a statement Rumsfeld said he used a machine." [ABC World News Tonight, 12/19/04]
Notes:
1. MSNBC, January 13, 2005
2. CNN, December 9, 2004 "
(from John Kerry e-mail 1/18/05)
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