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yesterday, during a speech in atlanta, rumsfeld was faced with protestors, who asked some difficult questions.
a few people stood up and booed rumsfeld, one person waved a sign that said “guilty! of war crimes”.
“you are a serial killer! this man needs to be impeached along with george bush!” one of the protestors shouted. the secret service quickly removed the protestors.
“i would like to ask you to be upfront with the american people. why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary, that has caused these kinds of casualties? why?” a cia analyst asked.
“well, first of all, i haven't lied,” rumsfeld said, which was all he would say in response.
then, the cia analyst, ray mcgovern, asked him about the wmd’s, or rather the lack thereof. rumsfeld asserted that he was not in the intelligence business.
“they (the president and his advisors – q.) gave the world their honest opinion. it appears that there were no weapons of mass destruction.”
although the analyst did press the matter, rumsfeld evaded his questions.
when asked why he lied about the relationship between al-qaeda and iraq, rumsfeld merely answered that “zarqawi was in baghdad during the prewar period, and that is a fact”.
however, when told by mcgovern that this was not the case, he refused to further address the question.
recent polls show that more than half of the american people think the war is not a success, and not worth the cost and loss of life.
Video:
there have been calls for his resignation. not just by some random people, but by retired generals, people who obviously know what they’re talking about. he, however, does not want to give in. what is going on with rumsfeld?
last week, six retired generals broke protocol and called for the resignation of defense secretary donald rumsfeld. an unusual thing, since it is an unspoken rule for the military not to criticize the civilian leadership of the dod.
“the decision to invade iraq was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who never had to execute these missions - or bury the results … i now regret that i did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat -- al-qaida,” retired lt. gen. gregory newbold said.
it is thought that the retired generals voice the sentiments of many more within the military. although many active-duty officers may agree in private, they will however never do so in public. not only should they show respect for the civilian leadership as set forth in the constitution, they also fear that it may be political suicide if they were to speak up.
so where did rumsfeld go wrong?
his estimate of what would happen in iraq and what the reality of what did happen in iraq are very far apart.
he disbanded the police and military in iraq, leaving the country vulnerable to forces within, resulting in chaos in iraq. he failed to recognize this fact for a long time.
he did send enough troops to bring down saddam hussein, which to his credit, happened in just three weeks, but did not deploy enough troops to stop the looting and chaos after his regime fell.
his unclear rules regarding the treatment of prisoners in abu ghraib lead to a huge scandal and loss of believability at home and abroad. his inability to hold any high-ranking officers accountable has done him no good either; only low ranking soldiers were punished.
he underestimated the insurgency, calling the insurgents baathist “dead-enders,” criminal gangs, and foreign terrorists. he did not manage to secure saddam hussein’s weapon stockpiles now used by the insurgency. and even now, he refuses to see that there is a civil war in iraq.
rumsfeld has refused to resign. he also refused to address the issues presented by the former generals, saying, “when you make a decision, you make a choice, somebody is not going to like it. it’s perfectly possible to come into this department and preside and not make choices, in which case people are not unhappy, until about five years later when they find you haven't done anything and the country isn’t prepared.”
president bush said, “i have strong confidence in donald rumsfeld. i hear the voices and i read the front page, and i know the speculation, but i'm the decider and i decided what is best and what's best is for don rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”
other high-ranking officers have publicly supported rumsfeld, denying that the sentiments expressed by the generals are widespread in the military.
could it be that more high ranking officers will step forward and call for the resignation of rumsfeld? would it do any good? or should rumsfeld stay on as the secretary of defense and finish the job he started?
the fact of the matter is that many people feel that the war in iraq is headed in the wrong direction. however, who is responsible for that? president bush is the leader of this country, should he not be called to answer for any and all mistakes made by rumsfeld?
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4/19/2006- by qtnik
