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GOP, Pentagon rally around Rumsfeld as Democrats call for ouster(New York Daily News (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) NEW YORK _ The war of words escalated over Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday as senior Democrats called for his ouster and Republicans and the Pentagon rallied around him. Seven retired generals last week issued an unusual public call for Rumsfeld's resignation, accusing him of micromanaging the war in Iraq and not listening to his military advisers. "This is not an insignificant event," Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said on "Fox News Sunday." "Generals are not in the habit, even as retirees, to go around being critical of the civilian leadership. ... Clearly I think Secretary Rumsfeld needs to move on." But the Pentagon distributed a one-page memo saying Rumsfeld had met repeatedly with military advisers _ 193 times with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 208 times with combat commanders from 2005 to present. Senior military leaders "are involved in an unprecedented degree in every decision-making process," the memo says. Richard B. Myers, the Air Force general who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2001 through last year, said Rumsfeld allowed "tremendous access" for military brass to present their arguments about war strategy. "We gave him our best military advice and I think that's what we're obligated to do," Myers said on "This Week" on ABC. "If we don't do that, we should be shot." President Bush has no plans to fire Rumsfeld, a close friend told Newsweek. "He likes him," the friend said. "He's not blind. He knows Rumsfeld sticks his foot in it." The retired military officials urging Rumsfeld to step down include Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq; Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, who led the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq; and former NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark. The others are Major Gen. Paul Eaton, Gen. Anthony Zinni, Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold and Major Gen. John Riggs. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., suggested that people are searching for a "scapegoat" and questioned whether a new defense secretary would have any impact on the insurgency in Iraq or how Iraqi leaders form their government. "A lot of this focus on an individual is a way of, maybe, criticizing the president," Allen said on CBS' "Face the Nation." ___ (c) 2006, New York Daily News. Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. _____ ARCHIVE PHOTOS on KRT Direct (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Donald Rumsfeld For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected]. |