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April 14, 2006

God Bless and Long Live Rummy!

Please note....Everyone of of these complaints is coming from a Democrat!

Retired Generals Band Together in Criticizing Rumsfeld on Iraq War

WASHINGTON - The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have criticized harshly the secretary of defense's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.

"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Major General John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-05, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."

Here are some of Rummy's quotes. I love how he stands up to the press.
Tah dah!

I don't do quagmires."

"I don't do diplomacy."

"I don't do foreign policy."

"I don't do predictions."

"Now, settle down, settle down. Hell, I'm an old man, it's early in the morning and I'm gathering my thoughts here."

"If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't, I'll just respond, cleverly."

"Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning (laughter)"

"Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal."

"Cluster bombs are being used on frontline al Qaeda and Taliban troops to try to kill them is why we're using them, to be perfectly blunt."

"We aren't running out of targets; Afghanistan is."

"The only way to defend against terrorists is to go after the terrorists."

Q: "Sir, there's a widespread perception in this town that when it comes to the Iraqis and the Palestinians, you are a hard-liner. Are you comfortable with that? (Laughter.) And --"
A: "Look at me! I'm sweet and lovable."

Q: "Secretary Rumsfeld, do you want to catch (Bin Laden) dead or alive or either way?"
A: "Well, the president's policy is dead or alive. And, you know, I have my preference..."

Q: "Secretary Rumsfeld, can you give us -- or maybe even General Pace -- can you give us any idea of what's happening..."
A: "What do you mean 'even General Pace'? (Laughter.) (To the general) You don't have to take that from him!"

Q: Mr. Secretary, at the White House last night, a senior White House official after the president spoke said that the decision to make the strike was made some time between 6:30 and 7:00 Eastern time. It's apparent that that decision to strike was not in line with what we have been led to believe about the war plan. Was the intelligence you got fragile enough where you felt you had to go at that moment and not start with, say, shock and awe or some other phase of the war?
A: "Well, Dick, calibrate me, but the first thing I'd say is I don't believe you have the war plan -- (laughter) -- a fact which does not make me unhappy. (Laughter)"

Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, "The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind."

Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.

With the press there is no "off the record."

Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

"I can't think of anything funnier than a handful of congressmen walking around (Iraq). They'd have to be there for the next 50 years trying to find something. It's a joke."

Press Briefing by the Secretary of Defense March 30,2003
One day soon Americans will say, "We came, we saw, we kicked Iraq's least hungry non-civilian elite all over that dust-filled patchwork toilet of a European colonialist abortion!"

We have not been surprised by the simple psychological fact that ill-informed and abused people instinctively defend their homes from invading hordes. But once the mobile Taco Bell kiosks arrive, the Iraqi populace shall doubtless transform into a Western-style pasture of grazing, glassy-eyed moo-cows. Not the pretty polka-dot Holsteins of course – the other ones – the ugly brown ones.

Continue referring to "suicide bombers" as "homicide bombers." Remember that these acts of desperate war are war crimes. War itself, if we are waging it, is not a crime.

When reporting about anti-war protestors, refer to them as "the same old protestors" or "pro-terrorist GI Joe-haters" or "hippy asshole mobs."

Send a memo to all your affiliates to stay true to the five rules of journalism: Who, what, when, why, how. Who: America, the infallibly righteous. What: Saddam Hussein, who sprung fully-formed and evil, from the anus of Lucifer himself. When: We will finish punishing the Iraqasaurs when we're damn ready to finish and not a decade before. Why: Everyone but us is evil. How: With the might of the American military, and with the blood of common citizen soldiers whom I would normally avoid like the plague in public.

And that's a wrap. No questions. I'm late for brunch.

.

Wild Thing's comment......

Rumsfeld does not suffer fools gladly at DOD. Period - and why should he - peoples' lives are at stake, in the country and among the troops.

With so many complaints about Rumsfeld by ex-generals appointed by the Impeached Rapist! I actually find that quite refreshing. It tells me he's getting the job done!

These people are orchestrated. The Dem strategy this year is an unending drumbeat leading to November. They don't care about any of this.

These generals are all Clinton groomed people who were told when promoted that they would have a role post retirement. To their chagrin, Bush was elected twice and they are out in the cold -- and will stay there unless Dems return to power. that when one demands results and is hard charging in the process ...one is going to ruffle some feathers and hurt some feelings.

That is all that has happened here with some of these ex-Gen's....it speaks volumes about them. Not the SecDef.

The difference between the Dem Generals and GOP Generals is pretty simple. Numbers. There are a handful of them who the DNC has orchestrated and ensured would get press coverage. There are hundreds of conservative retired generals who actually have jobs and are busy in their lives and don't spend those lives in front of a camera.

The media wants Rummy to have:

S pecial
H igh
I ntensity
T raiing

Uh oh. They're saying the Secretary is - gasp! - arrogant! And that one must be prepared when meeting with im. For gosh sakes, he's the Secretary of Defense! Here's another report on Secretary Rumsfeld:

Source for letter posted belo.:
My brother, a captain in the National Guard, recently returned from Iraq. His unit, which provided security for convoys originating in Kuwait and traveling to any and all parts of Iraq, had one casualty — a soldier who lost an arm to an IED.

While at Walter Reed, the injured soldier was having a conversation with a general and mentioned — somewhat in jest — that he wanted Rumsfeld to deliver his Purple Heart.

Well, the next day, who shows up in his hospital room — without security or photogs — but Rumsfeld? Rummy sat and talked with the soldier and his mother, who happened to be there, for about 45 minutes.

My brother says that the vast majority of the soldiers would crawl through broken glass for either Bush or Rumsfeld. What Rumsfeld did for that soldier — that simple act of kindness — was heartfelt. It cannot make up for the loss of a limb, but it says something about the secretary of defense and how he thinks about the men who serve under him.

Posted by Wild Thing at April 14, 2006 12:01 AM

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Comments

Posted by: BobF at April 14, 2006 10:16 AM

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Posted by: Wild Thing at April 14, 2006 01:04 PM

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Posted by: Jack at April 14, 2006 08:59 PM

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Posted by: Wild Thing at April 15, 2006 01:34 AM

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Posted by: SparkS at April 15, 2006 02:05 AM

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Posted by: Tincan Sailor at April 15, 2006 12:00 PM

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Posted by: Wild Thing at April 15, 2006 02:00 PM

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Posted by: Wild Thing at April 15, 2006 02:01 PM

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