Bush made the right decision(again).
Ex-Joint Chiefs Chairman Myers Defends Rumsfeld Against Critics
April 16 (Bloomberg) -- The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired General Richard Myers, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld didn't stifle dissent among military commanders, as he sought to counter public criticism of the Pentagon chief from six former officers.
Calls by the six retired generals for Rumsfeld's resignation because of his handling of the conflict in Iraq are ``inappropriate'' and harmful to the military, Myers, who served as the nation's top military leader from October 2001 until last September, said on ABC's ``This Week'' program. ``
We'd be in a horrible state in this country, in my opinion, if the military was left to judge civilian bosses.'' Rumsfeld's supporters are rallying around the Defense secretary amid demands from war critics for President George W. Bush to replace him and a continuing loss of public backing for the Iraq war. Bush on April 14 issued a statement saying Rumsfeld has his ``full support.''
The retired generals, including Army Major General John Batiste and Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, criticized the planning for the war and its aftermath. Batiste said last week on PBS's ``NewsHour'' program that the administration ``ignored sound military advice and counsel.''
In rebutting the critics, Myers said Rumsfeld gave his military commanders ``tremendous access'' to present their arguments on strategy and tactics.
``When it's all said and done, in our system, the civilian control of the military means that civilians makes the decision,'' Myers said. `Good Call'
Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Bush made a ``good call'' by expressing his confidence in Rumsfeld. The administration has a significant foreign policy challenges ahead, including Iraq, Iran and relations in Asia and getting distracted by the controversy over Rumsfeld ``would be a misfortune,'' he said in a separate interview on the ABC program.
Another Republican, Senator George Allen of Virginia, said removing Rumsfeld would make little difference in the battle against terrorists or the effort to train Iraqi troops and get a government in place there.
``A lot of this focus on an individual is a way of, maybe, criticizing the president,'' Allen said on CBS's ``Face the Nation'' program.
Democrats said the statements by the former military officers, in interviews and published writings, reinforced their own criticism of Rumsfeld and of the war.
`Transforming Mistakes'
``Clearly some transforming mistakes have been made'' in Iraq, Senator Evan Bayh, also of Indiana, said on ABC. He said the U.S. didn't have enough troops in Iraq to secure the country after the invasion and the plan for dealing with the aftermath ``was thrown away by the Pentagon.''
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said he was sure military commanders expressed their dissent on the war plans at the time they were being formed.
``It is obvious that Secretary Rumsfeld did not listen to them,'' Richardson said on CBS. ``This is why we're in this morass.''
At least 2,373 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion, and Iraqi political leaders are still struggling to form a unity government almost four months since the last parliamentary elections. In the U.S., support for the war is waning. A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Time poll found that only 37 percent of Americans approve of the way Bush is handling the conflict and 58 percent said the situation in Iraq wasn't worth going to war over.
Pressure on Iraq
Republicans and Democrats alike said the U.S. must increase pressure on Iraq's elected leaders to form a government now to avoid worsening sectarian violence in the country.
``I'm for keeping the pressure on them,'' Lugar said. The U.S. may have to begin withdrawing support ``if they don't get their act together'' and form a new government.
Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program that Iraqi political leaders have delayed too long in coming up with a governing coalition that satisfies Sunni, *****e and Kurdish factions.
``Until they decide that they're going to manage their future, we can't guarantee it for them,'' Dodd said. ``We've given them an option, we've given them an opening here, but they seem unwilling to take advantage of it and people are tired of it at home.''
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