Going to War with the Morons you have

[Guest guest]

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 02:42:25 -0400 (EDT)

Going to War with the Morons you have

S

 

 

 

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_060429_going_to_war_with_th.htm

 

April 29, 2006

 

Going to War with the Morons you have

 

 

 

by Mike Whitney

 

http://www.opednews.com

 

" As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the

Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. "

-- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,

 

 

Bad news continues to pile up around Don Rumsfeld like garbage at a

land fill. The latest blast came from an unlikely source, The Army

Times " , which conducted a poll showing that 64% of enlisted men think

Rumsfeld should tender his resignation immediately.

 

It would be impossible to find a more conservative publication than

the Army Times or a more compelling reason for stepping down. Still,

the recalcitrant Rumsfeld shows no sign of caving in or loosening his

withered grip on the levers of power.

 

Earlier in the week, an equally devastating article appeared in the

New York Times " Criticism of Rumsfeld Widens to Young Officers "

echoing that younger officers are just as sick of the glib Rummy as

their elders. One anonymous officer noted, " We have not lost a single

tactical engagement on the ground in Iraq….The mistakes have all been

at the strategic and political levels. " Confidence in the Secretary is

deflating more rapidly than the air leaving a punctured tire.

 

Most of the grumbling about Rumsfeld seems to center on his two

salient attributes; arrogance and ineptitude, the twin-axels of

predictable failure. There isn't one part of the 3 year occupation he

hasn't mishandled, mismanaged or completely bungled. His tenure at the

War Dept represents the greatest collapse of leadership in the history

of the republic.

 

You're doin' a heck-uva job, Rummy.

 

It was Rumsfeld who refused to commit enough troops to the original

invasion making it impossible to establish order; just as it was

Rumsfeld who left the armories and munitions dumps unattended,

disbanded the Iraqi military, and dismantled the government through

de-Ba'athification. All these proved to be costly and avoidable

mistakes which made reconstruction difficult and security impossible.

 

Rummy has brushed aside such idle criticism saying, " Stuff happens " .

 

Rumsfeld's only success has been in alienating the Iraqi people by

authorizing the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib as well as the

gratuitous destruction of Falluja; two events which galvanized the

Iraqi resistance and savaged any chance of winning over Iraqi " hearts

and minds " .

 

Now, Iraq is in the throes of deadly guerilla war with casualties

mounting by the day and not a glimmer of light in the tunnel. The

responsibility for the deteriorating situation mainly rests with one

man, Don Rumsfeld, the primary architect of America's desert " cakewalk " . .

 

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton's summarized Rumsfeld's abysmal performance best

when he said that Rumsfeld was " incompetent strategically,

operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone responsible

for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. "

 

 

The problem with Rumsfeld runs deeper than his failure to stabilize

Iraq. His " Strangelovian " ideas of military transformation have no

place in a democracy. His efforts to convert the military into a

martial-force for private industry have eroded America's moral

standing in the world and put allies and enemies on alert.

 

We can see now that Guantanamo, Bagram, and Abu Ghraib are not

anomalies, but vital gears in a global war machine controlled from

Washington.

 

A Washington Post article last Sunday " Rumsfeld OKs wider anti-terror

role for Military " , exposed another frightening part of Rumsfeld's

" transformative " vision. Following the next terrorist attack on

American soil, Rumsfeld plans to deploy " elite Special operations

troops " to conduct military operations in countries outside of war

zones. Under the secretary's direction, 53,000 paramilitaries and

Green Berets will be released into sovereign nations in violation of

international law, conducting renditions, assassinations, sabotage,

and acts of piracy. Rumsfeld's plan abandons all prior constraints on

the military and converts the entire world into a " free-fire " zone.

 

There's no doubt that Rumsfeld's malignant strategy encompasses the

American " homeland " as well. It was Rumsfeld who pushed the Posse

Comitatus law towards extinction by setting up NorthCom, a military

command post within the United States. This creates the possibility

that future military operations will target the American people, a

threat which was anticipated by the founding fathers. Under new

legislation the military is free to spy on American citizens, deploy

mercenaries to natural disasters, and, in the event of a terrorist

attack, arrest citizens without charges.

 

All this leaves little doubt that Rumsfeld's ultimate goal is to

remove the military from all congressional oversight and create a

global policing apparatus for transnational corporations. The final

component of his plan will be set in motion following the next

terrorist attack.

 

Rumsfeld's ambitions are worrisome but we should not ignore how

dramatically public opinion has shifted against both him and the

entire administration. Bush's dwindling popularity is bound to

frustrate any scheme to militarize the nation.

 

We should also be encouraged by the extraordinary catalogue of

failures that Rumsfeld has amassed in just 6 short years. His record

does not support his lofty dreams of global domination. We expect he

will fail in this endeavor as well.

 

Regrettably, the price of ambition tends to be quite high. As Marine

Lt. General Greg Newbold opined, " The cost of flawed leadership

continues to be paid in blood. "

 

 

 

Mike is a freelance writer living in Washington state.

[Guest guest]

The article is good, but does not go nearly far enough. When a

civilian is a serial killer, or (like Charlie Manson) gets others to

do his killing for him, he is locked away for life, or executed.

Rummy is guilty of international war crimes and of domestic crimes as

well. Not only is he incompetant at his job, he violates law

continuously. No, Rummy does not need to step down. He needs to be

put ion prison without bail, then tried for capital crimes. Stepping

down means he leaves his post a free man with lots of buddies in the

war industry will be glad to hire him. Not acceptable! The man

needs either life without parole in the general population of a

maximum security prison, or be given a death sentence. Nothing less

is acceptable.

 

Alobar

 

On 4/30/06, califpacific <califpacific wrote:

> Sun, 30 Apr 2006 02:42:25 -0400 (EDT)

> Going to War with the Morons you have

> S

>

>

>

>

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_060429_going_to_war_with_th.htm

>

> April 29, 2006

>

> Going to War with the Morons you have

>

>

>

> by Mike Whitney

>

> http://www.opednews.com

>

> " As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the

> Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. "

> -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,

>

>

> Bad news continues to pile up around Don Rumsfeld like garbage at a

> land fill. The latest blast came from an unlikely source, The Army

> Times " , which conducted a poll showing that 64% of enlisted men think

> Rumsfeld should tender his resignation immediately.

>

> It would be impossible to find a more conservative publication than

> the Army Times or a more compelling reason for stepping down. Still,

> the recalcitrant Rumsfeld shows no sign of caving in or loosening his

> withered grip on the levers of power.

>

> Earlier in the week, an equally devastating article appeared in the

> New York Times " Criticism of Rumsfeld Widens to Young Officers "

> echoing that younger officers are just as sick of the glib Rummy as

> their elders. One anonymous officer noted, " We have not lost a single

> tactical engagement on the ground in Iraq….The mistakes have all been

> at the strategic and political levels. " Confidence in the Secretary is

> deflating more rapidly than the air leaving a punctured tire.

>

> Most of the grumbling about Rumsfeld seems to center on his two

> salient attributes; arrogance and ineptitude, the twin-axels of

> predictable failure. There isn't one part of the 3 year occupation he

> hasn't mishandled, mismanaged or completely bungled. His tenure at the

> War Dept represents the greatest collapse of leadership in the history

> of the republic.

>

> You're doin' a heck-uva job, Rummy.

>

> It was Rumsfeld who refused to commit enough troops to the original

> invasion making it impossible to establish order; just as it was

> Rumsfeld who left the armories and munitions dumps unattended,

> disbanded the Iraqi military, and dismantled the government through

> de-Ba'athification. All these proved to be costly and avoidable

> mistakes which made reconstruction difficult and security impossible.

>

> Rummy has brushed aside such idle criticism saying, " Stuff happens " .

>

> Rumsfeld's only success has been in alienating the Iraqi people by

> authorizing the torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib as well as the

> gratuitous destruction of Falluja; two events which galvanized the

> Iraqi resistance and savaged any chance of winning over Iraqi " hearts

> and minds " .

>

> Now, Iraq is in the throes of deadly guerilla war with casualties

> mounting by the day and not a glimmer of light in the tunnel. The

> responsibility for the deteriorating situation mainly rests with one

> man, Don Rumsfeld, the primary architect of America's desert " cakewalk " . .

>

> Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton's summarized Rumsfeld's abysmal performance best

> when he said that Rumsfeld was " incompetent strategically,

> operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone responsible

> for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. "

>

>

> The problem with Rumsfeld runs deeper than his failure to stabilize

> Iraq. His " Strangelovian " ideas of military transformation have no

> place in a democracy. His efforts to convert the military into a

> martial-force for private industry have eroded America's moral

> standing in the world and put allies and enemies on alert.

>

> We can see now that Guantanamo, Bagram, and Abu Ghraib are not

> anomalies, but vital gears in a global war machine controlled from

> Washington.

>

> A Washington Post article last Sunday " Rumsfeld OKs wider anti-terror

> role for Military " , exposed another frightening part of Rumsfeld's

> " transformative " vision. Following the next terrorist attack on

> American soil, Rumsfeld plans to deploy " elite Special operations

> troops " to conduct military operations in countries outside of war

> zones. Under the secretary's direction, 53,000 paramilitaries and

> Green Berets will be released into sovereign nations in violation of

> international law, conducting renditions, assassinations, sabotage,

> and acts of piracy. Rumsfeld's plan abandons all prior constraints on

> the military and converts the entire world into a " free-fire " zone.

>

> There's no doubt that Rumsfeld's malignant strategy encompasses the

> American " homeland " as well. It was Rumsfeld who pushed the Posse

> Comitatus law towards extinction by setting up NorthCom, a military

> command post within the United States. This creates the possibility

> that future military operations will target the American people, a

> threat which was anticipated by the founding fathers. Under new

> legislation the military is free to spy on American citizens, deploy

> mercenaries to natural disasters, and, in the event of a terrorist

> attack, arrest citizens without charges.

>

> All this leaves little doubt that Rumsfeld's ultimate goal is to

> remove the military from all congressional oversight and create a

> global policing apparatus for transnational corporations. The final

> component of his plan will be set in motion following the next

> terrorist attack.

>

> Rumsfeld's ambitions are worrisome but we should not ignore how

> dramatically public opinion has shifted against both him and the

> entire administration. Bush's dwindling popularity is bound to

> frustrate any scheme to militarize the nation.

>

> We should also be encouraged by the extraordinary catalogue of

> failures that Rumsfeld has amassed in just 6 short years. His record

> does not support his lofty dreams of global domination. We expect he

> will fail in this endeavor as well.

>

> Regrettably, the price of ambition tends to be quite high. As Marine

> Lt. General Greg Newbold opined, " The cost of flawed leadership

> continues to be paid in blood. "

>

>

>

> Mike is a freelance writer living in Washington state.

>

>

>