Stars and Stripes letter: Bush’s leadership weak

[lebkuchen]

Bush’s leadership weak

President Bush has disappointed conservatives and military members by betraying the very values that he swore to uphold when he campaigned for the White House. His appointment of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has led to weakening the resources of the military and spreading them too thinly around the globe. The plans that this administration has for cutting personnel, closing bases and reducing our presence in Europe will deeply diminish U.S. military prestige and power.

Under Rumsfeld, there has been increased dissension between uniformed leadership and the White House on numerous issues. Everyone in Washington knows that this has been occurring since before the Iraq war. Threatening about-to-retire military leadership that their lucrative lobbying jobs with defense industries won’t be there if they speak out against flawed administration policies is standard procedure. Even when generals and intelligence agencies warned against actions and timing that put soldiers at risk, the administration followed its own ambitions that disregarded these respected advisers.

It has become clear that Bush is led and managed by Vice President Dick Cheney and his network of neo-conservative, starry-eyed defense advisers.

It is also widely acknowledged that Bush has failed to take basic steps to protect the United States against future terrorist attacks.

Cutting veterans’ benefits and scaling back the services so that additional private, expensive contractors can be hired do not serve the institution of the military. It makes it less attractive as a professional choice.

This is not strong leadership, but rather the abdication of it.

Because of this weak leadership, the safety of soldiers and ordinary citizens is more compromised, and the prestige and respect for the U.S. military has been damaged.

Robert Van Burkleo
Seattle

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=23520

[Hubert Flottz]

1. Amen!

A great letter!

[lebkuchen]

2. Hi Hubert! What do you think of this next one?

I thought of you while at Omaha Beach, btw. Also thought of the Big Red One. US, UK and Canadian flags are all over that area. You should be there...excellent museums.

‘Themes’ idea ‘reprehensible’

I find the Idaho National Guard’s creation of “themes” for GIs to use when dealing with the press to be completely reprehensible. (“Idaho GIs told to use ‘themes’ with media,” July 17). A list of themes that are provided by superior officers cannot be considered as anything but coercion.

The people who created these themes have direct control over a soldier’s career and perhaps even his life or death. Even though no order was given that the themes be adhered to, the fact that using these themes is encouraged implies that not using them will result in angering a soldier’s superiors.

Further, the themes are all in support of the war in Iraq, and are thus designed to manipulate the media and the American public into a slanted view of the conditions of the soldiers and their morale. This is completely intolerable in an election year where the fate of our soldiers, and the appropriateness of the war in Iraq, are polarizing issues. This policy is not just inappropriate, but may be criminal should it be placed under congressional review.

Sgt. Dwight Shaw
Camp Navistar, Kuwait

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=23520