Ex-military officers criticize Rumsfeld (1 Viewer)

[KidRocks]

Ex-military officers accuse Rumsfeld of bungling Iraq war is what it amounts to and they are all correct it seems.

Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste and Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton among many, are actually harshly criticizing the Pentagon while military operations are under way in public, should they be shot? At the least should they be held in contempt? Are they traitors? Are they anti-Americans?

Surprisingly many American extremists will second all the above and you will probably find a few here in this forum who are fuming at their dissent and would gladly get the rope I'll bet!






http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060925/ap_on_go_co/iraq_democrats

WASHINGTON - Retired military officers on Monday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

"I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste told a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making," Eaton added at the forum, held six weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, in which the war is a central issue...

 

[Morrow]

Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste and Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton among many, are actually harshly criticizing the Pentagon while military operations are under way in public, should they be shot? At the least should they be held in contempt? Are they traitors? Are they anti-Americans?

They should be allowed to return to active duty, where men of character and conviction are rare.

 

[danarhea]

They should be allowed to return to active duty, where men of character and conviction are rare.

On active duty, of course, you cannot criticize Rumsfeld. It amounts to insubordination, and conduct unbecoming an officer, which can be prosecuted under UCMJ. The reason, of course, for this is that you cant have the chain of command breaking down, especially during a time of war.

However, once an officer is retired, he is a civilian, and can pretty much say what he believes. That is the reason you hear about only retired military men and women trashing Rumsfeld.