| THE
BLUE RED
COLUMN
The Mountain Press
| |
| Rumsfeld Should Resign or Be Fired By: JIM ANDERSON August, 2006 Donald Rumsfeld is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. He should resign as Secretary of Defense or be fired. CHARGE: Rumsfeld’s major decisions about Iraq were consistently all wrong. He predicted the war would last “six days, six weeks, I doubt six months.” The war’s cost (now projected $1 trillion) would be “under $50 billion.” On WMDs: “We know exactly where they are.” His post-war strategy failed, too. Rumsfeld had a report by Middle East experts, “The Future of Iraq,” which predicted every danger ahead. He ignored it and never planned for any insurgency. General Shinseki testified we’d need several hundred thousand troops: he got bypassed. Collin Powell wanted diplomacy: he got isolated and sabotaged. CHARGE: Rumsfeld plotted to invade Iraq even before George W. Bush ran for President. In 1997, Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and other Neocons formed the Project for the New American Century, a blueprint for world domination by American force, including the stated goal—four years before 9/11—of invading Iraq. CHARGE: Rumsfeld helped slant intelligence to justify invading Iraq. Inside the Pentagon, Rumsfeld created the Office of Special Plans, led by Douglas Feith. Its job was to cherry-pick intelligence and feed Cheney salable “proof” to justify war--like Saddam’s imaginary links to 9/11 and scary mushroom clouds. CHARGE: Rumsfeld failed to admit errors or learn from mistakes. Rumsfeld poisoned America’s influence worldwide by downplaying torture at Abu Ghraib. He lost the backing of Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Lieberman. Eight distinguished generals also publicly urged him to resign. To serious questions, Rumsfeld tosses dismissive one-liners: “Stuff happens”; “Henny Penny, the sky is falling.” But the chaos in Iraq grows worse, with no clear goals, no exit strategy, no end in sight. The Pentagon needs a fresh start. It’s way past time for Rumsfeld to go. -Jim Anderson is president of the Sevier County Democratic Club (www.sevierdemocrats.com). ©The Mountain Press 2006 |