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April 14, 2006
And then there were six
Unfortunately, the problem with this administration is that just because someone resigns, it is not clear you'll get anyone better.
A group of retired generals who want to oust Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resumed their offensive against the embattled military boss on Friday."He went to war with a flawed plan. He didn't account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime," retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who served as an infantry division commander in Iraq for 2½ years until last November, said on CBS News' The Early Show.
"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," Batiste added.
Batiste is one of six former commanders who served under Rumsfeld who now say he should be dismissed. The defense secretary has become a lightning rod for criticism of the way the war in Iraq has been run, reports CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante.
Major Generals Charles Swannack and John Riggs, both retired Army, were the latest to call for Rumsfeld's resignation. Retired Marine General Gregory Newbold called in Time magazine for "replacing Rumsfeld and many others unwilling to fundamentally change their approach." And last month, Army Major General Paul Eaton wrote in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."
Other calls for Rumsfeld's replacement have come from Batiste and retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni.
Riggs told National Public Radio that Rumsfeld fostered an "atmosphere of arrogance." Swannack told CNN that Rumsfeld micromanaged the war. "We need a new secretary of defense," he said.
Posted by Mike at April 14, 2006 09:51 AM
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