Generals keep piling on

[dajoki]

WP
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12280913/

Retired generals step up pressure on Rumsfeld
Secretary of defense hounded about leadership, handling of Iraq war

Updated: 10:17 p.m. ET April 12, 2006

The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized 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 Maj. Gen. 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."

Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.Batiste's comments resonate especially within the Army because it is widely known there that he was offered a promotion to three-star rank to return to Iraq and be the No. 2 U.S. military officer there, but declined because he no longer wished to serve under Rumsfeld. Also, before going to Iraq, he worked at the highest level of the Pentagon, serving as the senior military assistant to Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense.

String of high-profile attacks
Batiste said that he believes the administration's handling of the Iraq war has violated fundamental military principles, such as unity of command and unity of effort. In other interviews, Batiste has said he believes that the violation of another military principle of ensuring enough forces helped create the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal by putting too much responsibility on incompetent officers and undertrained troops.

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Holy.Fucking.Shit

This isn't about ot stop anytime soon. Here's a guy who gave up a third star based on real principles.

He and so many others ........

[dajoki]

4. That's why I believe...

this is so important.

[Warpy]

5. Apparently the miltary is looking for good officers now

because they've had a whole lot of seasoned brass retire over the stupidity of this whole thing.

Active duty military can't speak out, especially the brass. That they quit early and gave up higher rank and pensions just to speak out says more than a thousand lying speeches out of the maladministration.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I suspect they're gertting their pensions

They just need 20 years in. Most of the big guys have way more than that. Surely this guy did. But still, it takes an act of true principle to walk from another star.

The really disillusioned are the younger members of the officer corps ... the captains and lieutnents and majors ... tomorrow's leaders who won't be there when we need them.

[dajoki]

7. READ THIS...

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/washington/10army.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate
By THOM SHANKER
Published: April 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, April 9 — Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers. Last year, more than a third of the West Point class of 2000 left active duty at the earliest possible moment, after completing their five-year obligation.

It was the second year in a row of worsening retention numbers, apparently marking the end of a burst of patriotic fervor during which junior officers chose continued military service at unusually high rates.

Mirroring the problem among West Pointers, graduates of reserve officer training programs at universities are also increasingly leaving the service at the end of the four-year stint in uniform that follows their commissioning.

To entice more to stay, the Army is offering new incentives this year, including a promise of graduate school on Army time and at government expense to newly commissioned officers who agree to stay in uniform for three extra years. Other enticements include the choice of an Army job or a pick of a desirable location for a home post

[Stinky The Clown]

8. I saw that ...... it is a serious matter

This is the future. But, if you think about it, the whole bush junta has been in the here and now. EVERYTHING gets swept into the future ... for the Dems to clean up.

You recall when President Fuckwad came out and said it would be up to a FUTURE president o decide when to clear out of Iraq?

And that pesky deficit. Not theirs to worry about, huh?

[dajoki]

10. You got it...

They fucked EVERYTHING up and left it for the next man/woman to clean up.

[Erika]

2. Rumsfeld only credentials were of being a loyal bushbot

as you can see by his results.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Actually, I think he was more a loyal Cheneybot

And bush is the same. Cheneybots

[Robeson]

15. Unfortunately, these guys have been a plague on this country....

...long before Bush...

[Clarkie1]

9. Clark: "(Rumsfeld) gets them to say what he wants them to say."

I would like to point out that previously Clark has stated he would fire Rumsfeld and resigning after the torture scandals would have been "a very patriotic thing to do." This gives some insight into Rumsfeld dictatorial style (I guess he shares that with G.W.):

"The President’s never listened to the people in the field. He’s listened to Rumsfeld who has assured him that he knew what the people in the field were saying. But what he’s done is he’s intimidated a lot of people in the field from…they know what the required answer is and a lot of them trim their sails when they talk to Rumsfeld. They know what the consequences will be if they tell it to him straight and, of course Rumsfeld plays on that. He makes them think they’re worry-warts. He makes them think they don’t have confidence in themselves. He pushes on them, gets them to say what he wants them to say. He’s a master at it."

http://securingamerica.com/node/773

"He makes them think they don't have confidence in themselves." What a great leadership style.

:sarcasm:

[dajoki]

12. * wouldn't know...

what's happening in th field if it bit him in the ass. besides he wouldn't know what to do with the info anyway.

[Adelante]

13. Clark said that in September 2003 - FIRE Rumsfeld

I could pull every fucking hair out of my head.

[saltpoint]

11. Sure are a lot of generals saying that Rumsfeld's a contrarian jerk.

My guess is they know what they're talking about.

My god, even Evan Bayh, following the Abu Ghraib disclosures, confronted Rumsfeld with the point that sometimes for the good of a nation and its ideals, resignation is imperative, meaning Don Rumsfeld in this case.

Rumsfeld, at that hearing, glared back at Bayh with a look of arrogant contempt. I'll never forget it.

Time for Uncle Don to hit the road.

[SharonAnn]

14. Way past time for Uncle Don to hit the road.