Two retired Army major generals and a former Marine colonel spoke on the record yesterday. They spoke at a public forum set up by Democrats. One of them, who knows what it is like "over there", Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and served as a senior military assistant to former deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, charged that Rumsfeld and others in the Bush administration "did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq." The remaining two also did time in Iraq, retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who was responsible for training Iraq's military and police in 2003 and 2004, and retired Marine Col. Thomas X. Hammes, who served in Iraq in 2004 and helped establish bases for the reconstituted Iraqi armed forces.
All three of these military men called for Rummy's resignation. Batiste was the most damning with this set of remarks culled from a WaPo article:
"Secretary Rumsfeld ignored 12 years of U.S. Central Command deliberate planning and strategy, dismissed honest dissent, and browbeat subordinates to build 'his plan,' which did not address the hard work to crush the insurgency, secure a post-Saddam Iraq, build the peace and set Iraq up for self-reliance," *snip* Rumsfeld "refused to acknowledge and even ignored the potential for the insurgency," the retired general said. "At one point, he threatened to fire the next person who talked about the need for a post-war plan," Batiste added."
Does this sound like an administration that knows what it's doing? Does this sound like a military leader that trusts the judgements of his leaders in the field?
The answer is a resounding NO.
This final quote from Batiste is maddening: "Secretary Rumsfeld's dismal strategic decisions resulted in the unnecessary deaths of American servicemen and women, our allies, and the good people of Iraq," Batiste said. "He was responsible for America and her allies going to war with the wrong plan and a strategy that did not address the realities of fighting an insurgency."
Clip their wings this November. Vote out the people that allow this to continue. Vote for Change America. Do not stay the course.
Tags:Terrorism,Politics,Rumsfeld,Iraq,War on Terror
