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Bush digs in, offers 'full support' to Rumsfeld(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 15--WASHINGTON -- Facing open revolt among several retired generals calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, President Bush dug in his heels Friday with an unrelenting show of support for his most powerful Cabinet member. The outcry for Rumsfeld's removal has opened a new and vulnerable front in the public criticism of the war in Iraq and placed the White House on the defensive. Yet Bush will be hard-pressed to oust Rumsfeld, analysts said Friday, because that could be seen as a concession the president is unwilling to make: That the war itself has gone badly off-track. Reflecting the political pressure, Bush interrupted his Easter weekend with his family at Camp David to issue an unusual written statement in support of the defense secretary he calls "Don," signaling that he has no intention of firing Rumsfeld despite the onslaught. "I have seen firsthand how Don relies upon our military commanders in the field and at the Pentagon to make decisions about how best to complete these missions," Bush said. "He has my full support and deepest appreciation." As difficult as it may be for Bush to protect the most powerful member of his Cabinet in the face of pointed criticism from seasoned military leaders, experts say the dispute reaches far beyond Rumsfeld. It speaks to the conduct of a war that Bush maintains the U.S. is winning. "They are going to try very, very hard in the administration to ride this out," said Kurt Campbell, director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who served as an assistant secretary of defense in the 1990s. "For many of these guys to speak out, it's a big deal," Campbell said. Yet, he added, "it's hard for Bush to say it's time to let [Rumsfeld] go without implicitly acknowledging that the administration has mishandled things both tactically and strategically." The war already has taken a toll on Bush's popularity, and the criticism of the war's conduct from people in the best position to know makes it all the more difficult for the president to court support not just for the war, but also for his domestic initiatives. "It just keeps Bush further on the defensive," said John Geer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University. "He continues playing defense rather than offense, and he can't gain traction on anything." Even as Bush has stepped up a campaign for public support for the war, it's not just Democratic politicians who are criticizing the war's conduct and calling for Rumsfeld's head. It is retired generals, with some publicly accusing Rumsfeld of mishandling the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, in deploying too few troops, and the postinvasion struggle, in underestimating the threat of an insurgency. In addition, some of these retired general officers are accusing the defense secretary of refusing to heed dissent among his war commanders, raising an additional problem for the president. Bush, in the face of an increasingly unpopular war, has insisted that he will follow the advice of generals "on the ground" in determining how rapidly the U.S. might draw down forces. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack told CNN this week, "I don't think our generals feel comfortable providing Secretary Rumsfeld their honest beliefs." In becoming the seventh retired general to speak out, Swannack, who retired last year after commanding the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq, said: "He has micromanaged the generals who are leading our forces there to achieve our strategic object. I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense." Rumsfeld, in an interview aired Friday on Al-Arabiya television, said he has no intention of quitting. "The fact that two or three or four retired people have different views, I respect their views," Rumsfeld said. "But obviously if, out of thousands and thousands of admirals and generals, if every time two or three people disagreed we changed the secretary of defense of the United States, it would be like a merry-go-round." Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, among the first to publicly challenge Rumsfeld, said of the defense secretary in a recent interview with the Tribune: "My summation is he is a patriot. He is brilliant. He is charismatic. ... But his judgment is terrible, and he has gotten his president and the country into trouble." Bush said he had spoken Friday with Rumsfeld about "ongoing military operations" and issued an unconditional statement of support for his defense secretary: "I reiterated my strong support for his leadership during this historic and challenging time for our nation." The president also has summoned his chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, to rally support for the secretary. And within military ranks, Campbell said, this is a clear signal. "If you look back to the early 1990s, there were a lot of junior officers saying horrible things about [President] Clinton," Campbell said. "You can't allow that to happen. The message that Pace and others are trying to send [to the generals] is, 'Back off.' " But outside military ranks, experts say, the unusual display of dissent with a defense secretary who has the support of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney can only intensify public doubts. Already, in a national survey conducted in March by the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of Americans surveyed have said they do not believe that Bush has a plan for victory in Iraq. In the latest Gallup Poll, conducted March 10-12, a majority of Americans surveyed--57 percent--said the U.S. made a mistake in sending troops to Iraq. Now, said Drake University political scientist Dennis Goldford, the "inside baseball" of internal Pentagon politics--"finger-pointing in the military"--has spilled into public view. "The outside baseball is a public perception of disarray," Goldford said. "This isn't a bunch of Democratic Howard Deans out there saying this [about Rumsfeld]. This is a bunch of respected people in the military. ... And certainly the evidence that people see is of a lack of success in Iraq." At the same time, Geer suggested, Bush and Cheney are unlikely to abandon Rumsfeld, who has survived years of criticism. "If he had replaced him a year ago, I think he could have gotten away with it," Geer said. "Now he will just stick to his guns. And that's one of the things people like about him--he has always stuck to his guns." If Bush let Rumsfeld leave now, he said, "It would also be a statement that we have screwed up big-time on Iraq, and he doesn't want to do that." REVEILLE FROM RUMSFELD'S CRITICS: "We grow up in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting mistakes and learning from them was critical to us. When we don't see that happening it worries us. Poor military judgment has been used throughout this mission." --Retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former chief of U.S. Central Command on April 2 "My summation is he is a patriot. He is brilliant. He is charismatic. ... But his judgment is terrible and he has gotten his president and the country into trouble." --Retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey in December 2005 "We went to war with a flawed plan that didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime. We also served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership, who was abusive, who was arrogant, who didn't build a strong team." --Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste on April 12 "My sincere view is that the commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions--or bury the results." --Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold on April 9 "They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that's a mistake, and that's why I think he should resign." --Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs on April 13 "I really believe that we need a new secretary of defense because Secretary Rumsfeld carries way too much baggage with him. ... I think we need senior military leaders who understand the principles of war and apply them ruthlessly, and when the time comes, they need to call it like it is." --Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack on April 13 "He has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. . . . Mr. Rumsfeld must step down." --Retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton on March 19 SOURCES: The Associated Press, CBS "The Early Show," Time magazine, National Public Radio, CNN, The New York Times |