Nov 09 2006
The Great Donald Rumsfeld
The Washington Post has a reasonably good photo essay up of Don Rumsfeld’s dedication to this nation. The troops admired this man and he respected and cared for them. The liberals never understood that bond, and were probably envious of his success. And now that the Democrats own Iraq (in the people’s minds, they are here to bring us success), they will probably wish they had Rumsfeld around. The man took the largest Federal organization, with a lof of power centers more than able to defend against civilian plans for restructuring, and restructured it. He took on the Cold War conventional wisdom and turned the military into a much more nimble force, one with a large and lethal Special Forces contigent that has performed amazingly.
And Rumsfeld was a true hero of 9-11. Little notices by the jaded press, Rumsfeld, like Rudy Guilliani in New York City, ran to the site of the attack and started to help save people. He took control of the situation on the front line. The media did not play up Rumsfeld’s role as they did Rudy’s. Which is just anotherr reflection on a media that is totally dysfunctional. Donald Rumsfeld sparred with the media for 6 years and beat them up so bad by pointing out their truly idiotic premises and fantasies, that they had to take him down because they could not be seen inferior in their media. We did not see a lot of Rumsfeld press conferences – he was that devastating. But history will have the last laugh on the media. Rumsfeld’s name is already historic, thanks to the media’s craven efforts to take him down. But historians will go to the tapes, to the full conferences. And they will see the truth of the relationship. There is no contest. If given the choice, we could live without our dysfunctional media, but we needed Don Rumsfeld. He was the right man at the right time, and whether the left can muster the maturity to respect the man is simply their problem. Not our nation’s problem. Thanks Mr. Rumsfeld, for all you did for this country. Unlike some, you worked to better it.
Rummy did a great job on winning both wars in record time when we where all told we would lose 10000 plus. But we should all remember that our military is not a police force. We should also remember history, when Gen. Patton had a sniper shooting from a church steepole to protect his troops he had one of his tanks blow it up and these churchs were historic by age. My point is that unless our enemies are in the golden dome Rummy should have let our troops
take out any place that fighting was taking place, Iraq would have been a done deal a year ago.
Amen.
ama055131,
Sorry, but Iraq is a mess because the dems threatened to withdraw and that egged the terrorists into trying harder to get on the news. If the Dems had said we stay til we win, Iraq would have been over by now.
Do any of you guys think the left will have the stones to put Rummy on “trial”? I think that would be worth watching 😉 It’s sad to watch a great man be gnawed to death by mental midgets.
AJ, you are an island of sanity in a world gone insane. I’ve emjoyed reading you for the last couple of months. Thanks!
Sorry AJ but we had control of all branches during that time, we had to show right from the start any bad guy using places either holy or not that if you go after our troops we will take you out. But we played the old politcal game of trying to be politally correct, you can,t win this way!
Sorry AJ but we held both sides of congress. But we used the old political game instead of showing the bad guys that weather you use a holy site or not that if you go after our troops we will take you out, power of our military overcomes anything that would have been thrown our way and I belive the people of our great country would have agreed and what ever the Dems would have said would have gone in 1 ear and out the other.
Mnay thanks MrMagoo,
Sometimes I think I am an island of insanity….
He is one of the truly great Americans.
I think he was the Best Secretary of WAR, that we’ve ever had!
He also has been under relentless attack, from WITHIN the military, because a) he suffers fools gladly b) he despises bureacracy and institutional friction c) he doesn’t swallow the typical military bullshit about “we can’t do that..”
I’m a former Marine Intel Officer, and I have friends/colleagues still on active duty, who say that he’s the most brilliant of men.
They say, when talking to him, if you’re a straight shooter, and don’t give him bullshit, he listens, and you’re fine.
They also say, that if you do what a lot of the “institutional” military from the Acadamies do, which is equivocate, dissemble, and cover their asses, then he chews you up and spits you out!
THAT alone, explains the “revolt of the Generals”; individuals that Rumsfield found lacking, and who he forced out; in every case that I’ve heard of personally, deservedly so, by the way!
It is a major reason, there has been this war of “leaks” being waged against him via the Leftist MSM; he’s transformed the Military in ways over the past six years, that not only were 30 years past due, but also many thought were impossible.
Machiavelli said (basically, I’m paraphrasing): in introducing a new order of things, you have as enemies, all those who thrived under the old system, and as lukewarm supporters, all those who may thrive under the new!
That sums up Rumsfield’s dilema Exactly!
It’s a shame, he’s been a breath of great air, and a great American!
As the hearings begin, and they will because the Dems are not going to give Rummy any R & R, watch the brass start the process of CYA. These military big wigs will never destroy their careers by accepting the responsibility for things that have gone wrong in Iraq. It will always be the fault of the Pentagon, i.e. Rumsfeld.
I am/was a fan of Rumsfeld. He was straight forward and took no crap from reporters who were vieing for the “Dumb Question Of The Year” award. That did not make Rummy near and dear to the hearts of the MSM. And the MSM’s sole purpose is to serve their masters, the Dems.
Donald Rumsfeld is a patriot and his love for our troops was undeniable. And if the Dems think that by getting rid of Rummy and getting Gates is going to serve their needs, they are in for a big surprise.
Here is a little insight into Rummy’s replacement. A couple of years ago, the University of Texas reinstated it’s race based admissions policy. When asked if Texas A & M would do the same thing, accepting students based on race and not grade point averages, Gates said “nope”. He said that UT was free to do what they wanted, but A & M (the seventh largest university in the U.S.) would continue to admit students based on their grade point and he wasn’t interested in their color, he was interested in having the best and the brightest attend A & M and acceptance on grade point averages would continue. When UT told students to take American flags out of their windows when we invaded Iraq because it might insult some of the foreign students, Gates said if they were insulted they could attend school in a nation that was not offensive to them.
So if the Dems think this man is going to cave to their PC demands, they are in for a major surprise.
A letter I just wrote to Don Rumsfeld
Dear Mr. Rumsfeld –
I am writing to personally thank you for your service to our country. During your tenure as Secretary of Defense, I always felt safer and well protected. I knew that you were in command of a difficult situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and I trusted your judgment implicitly. Thank you, kind sir.
I want to tell you a story. After President George Bush (41) served his first term and was running for his second against then Governor Clinton, my best friend asked me how I could possibly vote for Mr. Bush. Her worry was that he would appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Rowe vs. Wade. At that time, I was a supporter of a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, especially during the first trimester. I held this belief for personal reasons and being the mother of a small daughter at that time, I felt better knowing my daughter would have “options†should she ever find herself in any difficulty down the road.
I am not going to pontificate on my fluid stance on the abortion issue. The salient part of my story is this: the first Gulf war opened my eyes to the possibility that the world was indeed still a dangerous place, even after the fall of the Soviet Union. This was well before 9/11, but I had read Frederick Forsyth’s’ novel The Fist of God and I felt like trouble, serious trouble, was brewing in the Middle East. So when my friend, horrified, asked me how in the world I could vote for someone who might ruin my daughter’s chances of having an abortion later in life, I answered her this way:
You know, I said, If George Bush managed to get enough judges on the bench to overturn Rowe vs, Wade, and my daughter comes to me at 15 and tells me she is pregnant, well, as hard as that situation may seem, I can deal with it. After all, I told her, the worse thing that could happen is we end up with a baby. Maybe we will find the will to give the gift of a baby to some couple desperate for the chance at parenthood or maybe we get a second shot. My daughter would eventually heal and we would certainly be there to help her. The situation would be in my hands, manageable (emotional for sure,) but manageable none the less. But, I continued, If some crazy little dictator gets his hands on a nuclear weapon and decides to wreak havoc on my world, there is nothing I can do about it. Nothing. I trust George Bush to have the courage to protect me. I don’t trust Bill Clinton.â€
This has been my guiding force whenever I decide who to vote for. The current president, George W. Bush, was wise enough to choose you as my protector. You are both great men and true patriots and caretakers of this nation. Thank you, Mr. Rumsfeld, thank you. I for one, am sorry to see you go. I wish you joy and contentment. I wish you everything good that can befall a true hero. May The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
If they go and put Rumsfeld to trial they will open the door so if there is ever another war under a Dem administration their sec of def will suffer the same. No one would want to be sec of def.
While I am a big admirer of Rummy under his administration the war went south. Last year was the time to replace him and get a new angle to solve the iraq mess. Bush sat on this too long and it gave the American people the impression on being in limbo while the soldiers were dying. The Iraq war needs a good strong administrator and the Iraquis need to be told to get their act together NOW.
I echo the sentiments in honor and respect for Mr. Rumsfield. To those that opine about his “administrating” the war poorly; there is no way that one man, much less the top of the DOD pyramid can completely control all of the built-in stuffed-shirts (in uniform and not).
The war in Iraq and Afganistan were one thing. The war that went on and that goes on within the Pentagon has been ruinous. Think about all of those field-grade officers and generals, who for years and years were promoted and coddled under years of ineffective and unfocused DOD politicos.
Don Rumsfield was appointed with a mission, and was fought at every step from a built-in constituency who wanted the status quo and their pet projects. The Army fought the most and loudest because they had the most to lose under the scrutny of a bright light with the wisdom and knowledge to see through their BS explinations and justifications and they just couldn’t stand it.
I’m thankful Mr. Rumsfield lasted as long as he did. He deserves a quiet retirement and a medal. I too think history will paint him very fairly and those that have opposed him and threaten trials, etc against him, will be judged as mental midgets and partisan fools.
The democrats wanted the military to fail. Rumsfeld did such a great job, that they went after Rumsfeld.
AJStrata’s right on this.
AJ’s completely right, and his sentiments are well expressed. If the Dems pursue some kind of “investigation,” I hope Rummy’s lawyers bring in names and specifics on all those Foggy Bottom parasites whose money trains were derailed by Rummy’s reforms and streamlining of the weapons acquisitions process.
Does anyone with an IQ above their age actually think the anti-Rumsfeld “military experts” based their “strategic wisdom and experience” calls for the SecDef’s replacement on anything other than their own bank accounts and/or career options? I sure don’t.
I have severe doubts as to whether Rummy is as popular as portrayed
above, among the rank and file soldier, having read a few MSM
quotes of same .and allusions.
I would be interested in knowing if Dale in Atlanta agrees with
AMAo55131’s “10,000” loss figure, as a barometer of why Rummy
has a good Iraq record. Because the US would have taken many more losses had not the guerrilla option been taken by Saddaam’s hard core. And if the US stays long enough, that figure is not out of
range.
I’ve had some significant disagreements with Rumsfeld’s policies. But there is one thing that redounds to his eternal credit….
On 11 September 2001, Al Quaeda hit the Pentagon with an airliner. The building was burning, with an unknown number of additional aircraft still in the air and possibly targeted for a second strike.
Congress evacuated the Capitol. Ditto the White House.
Rumsfeld went back into the burning building, closed the fire doors, and fought the war from there…..and the next day, when the rest of the country and even much of the military was closed, the Pentagon was open for business. Still on fire, but open.
Whatever else he may have done, Donald Rumsfeld covered himself with glory that day.
Rummy is brilliant and a real patriot. He was the architect of 2 great successes in Afghanistan & Iraq, while simultaneously trying to transform the military. Of course, Phase II of Iraq has not gone as well or as fat as desired. AJ’s right that the dems made things much worse by undermining Bush (& our country) and the administration every step along the way (not to mention the “help” of the MSM). But AMA055131 is also right. The reps had control of both houses to go along with Bush. I think the slog we’re in is Bush’s fault for being too politically correct and sensitive to MSM criticisms. If we had taken out Sadr in Falluja … who knows — it might be over by now.