[lit-ideas] "I'm the Decider"
- From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:18:18 EDT
I don't think it gets better/worse than this. Our President hears voices,
reads the front page, and asserts that he is "the decider".
Bush: 'I'm the decider' on Rumsfeld
Rumsfeld: Changes in military meet resistance
Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Posted: 8:34 p.m. EDT (00:34 GMT)
President Bush adamantly defends his secretary of defense Tuesday, saying "I
decide what's best."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush sharply defended Donald Rumsfeld on
Tuesday, saying the embattled Pentagon chief is doing a "fine job" despite
calls
for his resignation from six retired military generals.
Bush already had interrupted his Easter vacation at Camp David, Maryland, on
Friday to release a public statement of support for the defense secretary.
Despite a practice of not usually commenting on personnel moves, the
president told reporters Tuesday that his vote of confidence for Rumsfeld was
an
effort to stamp out speculation about his status. (_Watch Bush, generals on
Rumsfeld defense moves -- 1:30_
(javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/politics/2006/04/18/das.rumsfeld.bush.cnn','2006/04/25');)
)
"You can understand why, because we've got people's reputations at stake,"
Bush said of his aversion to speculation about personnel matters.
"And on Friday I stood up and said, 'I don't appreciate the speculation about
Don Rumsfeld; he's doing a fine job; I strongly support him.'"
Pressed to respond to critics who say he is ignoring the advice of respected
former military commanders, Bush vigorously stood by Rumsfeld.
"I listen to all voices, but mine is the final decision," he said. "And Don
Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He's not only transforming the military, he's
fighting a war on terror. He's helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong
confidence in Don Rumsfeld.
"I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation.
But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don
Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."
The president made the comments in the Rose Garden after introducing Rob
Portman, the U.S. trade representative, as his pick to be the new White House
budget director.
Bush also said he is nominating Portman's deputy, Susan Schwab, as the trade
ambassador. (_Full story_
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/18/portman/index.html) )
Rumsfeld spoke to reporters at the Pentagon after the president spoke and
suggested that his critics are uncomfortable with change in the military.
He presented a long list of developments of the past five years, ranging from
arms reduction agreements with Russia, to strengthening the role of special
operations forces, to base closings, and added, "Every one of those changes
that I just described has met resistance."
Rumseld said he was proud of the changes he had made, and continued, "At the
same time, we had a war in Afghanistan, we've got a war in Iraq, and we've
got the global war on terror going on.
"Now, that's hard for people. That's difficult. With all of those moving
parts, with all of those challenges to try to get from the 20th century, the
industrial age, into the information age, to the 21st century, from
conventional
warfare into a regular and asymmetrical warfare, is a difficult thing to do.
"And, by golly, one ought not to be surprised that there are people who are
uncomfortable about it and complaining about it."
Recently, six retired generals -- including former commanders of two Army
divisions that saw combat in Iraq -- have called for Rumsfeld to resign.
They accuse him of ignoring advice from senior officers about how to
prosecute the war and sending too few troops into Iraq to manage the occupation
after the March 2003 invasion.
Those calling for Rumsfeld's resignation are retired Maj. Gen. Charles
Swannack, who led the 82nd Airborne Division during its mission in Iraq; former
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Anthony Zinni; retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste,
who led the 1st Infantry Division in northern Iraq in 2004-2005; retired Army
Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton; retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs; and retired Marine
Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold.
Tuesday afternoon, Rumsfeld met with a group of about 15 retired generals and
other military analysts who regularly appear on television and in
newspapers. The meeting was apparently called in response to the recent
uproar.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, a CNN military analyst who
attended the session, said very little of the direct criticism of the secretary
was discussed during the meeting, though it appeared that Rumsfeld was
distracted by the retired generals' comments.
However, despite the criticism, Shepperd said, Rumsfeld and Marine Gen. Peter
Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared to be upbeat.
"The secretary was really in a good mood, so was the chairman," Sheppard
said. "These people are not troubled people. They are concerned people and they
are concerned about what is going on."
According to Sheppard, Pace said he was surprised by the criticism of the
policy in Iraq from the retired generals, because the commanders were invited
to
discuss the Iraq war plan while it was being formed.
When discussing the current status of the war, Rumsfeld and Pace pointed to
the formation of an Iraqi government, which has been held up by sectarian
squabbles since the elections in January, as the next key sign of progress in
Iraq.
"They are happy with the progress of the Iraqi security forces," Sheppard
said, but those forces "have to be loyal to an elected government that is
competent."
"That's the most difficult challenge in Iraq," he said. "It's not the
insurgency. It's the formation and election and performance of an Iraqi
government
that gains the confidence of the people, just like in this country."
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