A small group of senior military officers went public, calling for Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation. They accuse him of arrogance and mismanagement of the war. Some call him intimidating. Others accuse him of being disrespectful to military officers. This is not the first time that Rumsfeld has weathered the ‘resignation storm’. After the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, many, including politicians (mostly democrats), called for his resignation. President Bush stood by his man then as he is doing now.
The problem I am having with this current situation is the manner in which the officers are going about their criticisms. They are all general officers, who have an extraordinary amount of influence on the troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries around the world. They are making statements in the newspapers and on the TV networks that are being interpreted and analyzed by the enemies of America. The same generals had many opportunities to voice their opinions to the Defense Secretary but did not do so when they had the chance. The same generals would not have found it to be so funny if their troops started making statements in the press about how worthless some of them are.
As a result of this, I am having a tough time trying to decipher the motives here. And, I am not political at all. As a matter of fact, I am disgusted with politicians. These questions I find disturbing: Are our military leaders that soft that they cannot deal with a prickly person? Why would the generals make statements that they know would demoralize their troops who are fighting overseas? Would they have tolerated the same behavior from their subordinates? Why would they give the impression, especially to the world and our enemies that our Armed Forces are in disarray? Do the terrorists find this amusing? Are the generals being paid to make those statements? Do they have political aspirations, like General Clark? Why hasn’t the press reported on the many generals who have openly supported Rumsfeld? Is Rumsfeld incompetent? Should President Bush replace the Defense Secretary?
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