A sixth retired general has now gone public with his opposition to Rumsfeld.
Retired Maj. Gen. John Riggs sees fault in the handling of the military's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I think he should step aside and let someone step in who can be more realistic," Riggs told NPR's Michele Norris on Thursday.
Riggs served in the Army for 39 years, attaining the rank of three-star general. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as a helicopter pilot during Vietnam.
It's not too hard to figure out at least one reason Riggs dislikes Rumsfeld. He was demoted and forced to retire last year, ostensibly for "misuse of contractors." But the infractions were considered so minor they didn't go on his record, and the real reason appears to be that Riggs often and sometimes publicly argued that the Army was overstretched and needed to be enlarged, by tens of thousands of troops.
Related posts here and here, and here is a guest post I did for The Reaction that lays out a more comprehensive case for Rumsfeld's resignation.
UPDATE: The White House has reiterated its support for Rumsfeld.
White House, general, Riggs, Rumsfeld, politics, midtopia
4 comments:
Dumping Rumsfeld at this point would look like the WH is placating its critics and that's not something this group will ever do. And, in fairness, there is an issue about the appropriateness of military personnel--even if retired--calling for resignations of civilian officials. It's called civilian control of the military.
And, frankly, I think Rumsfeld is just a symbol of the overall incompetence of this administration. If he goes, they will just appoint another political hack. I'd like him to leave but I doubt it would make much difference.
It is important that they waited until after they retired to voice their criticisms. While they were on active duty they kept silent and did as they were told. Civilian control of the military remains firmly intact.
I get a little tired of politicians sticking with a bad choice because it would "look bad" if they changed their mind. When did it become politically damaging to learn from experience? I want my government to be primarly concerned with serving the country well, not with their image.
I think Rumsfeld was a good choice for the job he was appointed to do: reform the military. But when 9/11 came along he was ill-equipped to handle it, and it thoroughly disrupted his reform plans, too. That was the time to accept his resignation: when it was clear that the job had changed, and so the SecDef had to change, too.
Good point about Rumsfeld being the symbol rather than the problem, though. I've made a similar argument in previous posts about him. Stunning incompetence is a hallmark of this administration; Rumsfeld certainly doesn't have a monopoly on that trait.
so… anyone have a take on masons and the brass? as far as the Skull & Bones in office, personally, i think they’re ruining the us economy on purpose - and are in cahoots with the fed.. strengthening the euro/the ‘world’ economy at the expense of america. TREASON! i think HAARP, and other interesting technology needs to be DISMANTLED around the world. katrina cost 70 billion - and we’re now being warned of some massive volcano/quake that’s gonna hit the northwest. i am against a ‘new world order’, and i consider it treason for those in office to do as they have; deregulation, the spy act, the executive orders - the powers of fema… skull and bones, high masons, and the badguy isrealis.
‘Be Wise As Serpants’ is an interesting book - if you can find it.
my take on things is that there is an anti-Christ comming, and some of the zionist isrealis dont realize they’re playing on the wrong team… which i think will lead all the nations against isreal. Illumaniti game made in 1995, the Lone Gunmen - pilot episode (aired 6 mos before 911)… there are many many things going on for those who aren’t paying any attention. do a quick googlesearch for ‘aspartame’ - rummi was largely responsible for getting that passed through the FDA. they need taken out of power, but how? and who could you trust to replace them? there’s some cool technology out now - fMRI that you can tell if someone is attempting to lie; i’d LOVE to use it & to put ‘em all on the stand. satan showed jesus all the nations….
as far as president stuff.. i think things are well understood by polls/statistics well before running. kerry is also skull & bones..
________________________________ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12290187/site/newsweek/
An informal panel of senior Pentagon officials has been holding a series of unannounced private meetings during the past several weeks about how to proceed with a possible merger between the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), a post-9/11 Pentagon creation that has been accused of domestic spying, and the Defense Security Service (DSS), a well-established older agency responsible for inspecting the security arrangements of defense contractors. DSS also maintains millions of confidential files containing the results of background investigations on defense contractors’ employees.
http://www.freedomdomain.com/cia.html
i’m just curious as to who has the power to slow down the new world order… or at least, how to minimize their damage.
" Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal. "
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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