Is Rummy Wobbling?

Maybe we here at LitR should start a pool for when Rumsfeld finally decides to leave public service, no doubt for “personal reasons” or “to spend more time with his family”.   Here’s yet another retired general calling for the man’s removal.  Now the list so far includes:

• Retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq shortly after the toppling of Saddam Hussein
• Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Riggs, who once headed an Army task force to transform the service's structure and weapons systems
• Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, former director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff (noted in the blog below)
• Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, head of training Iraqi forces in 2003
• Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, the former head of U.S. Central Command

Koko’s cynical prediction: the administration will launch a counter-campaign calling into question the integrity of the criticizing generals and the ethics of speaking out so soon after retirement.  If this does not work, we’ll start to see reports of Rumsfeld’s health deteriorating as a precursor to his eventual retirement.

We Won't Get Fooled Aga-- uh, oh

In my youth I was too much of an arrogant, anti-authoritarian to last long in the military so I never enlisted.  To this day that is one of my greatest regrets.  My view of the military then was none too flattering but then I had never met any serviceman like
Lieut. General Greg Newbold (ret.).  

General Newbold retired from the military four months prior to the invasion of Iraq, in part as a protest against that wrong-headed move, and he has an Op-Ed piece in this week’s issue of TIME.  I heartily recommend you read it in its entirety.  To give you a taste, here’s a particularly choice cut:

I will admit my own prejudice: my deep affection and respect are for those who volunteer to serve our nation and therefore shoulder, in those thin ranks, the nation's most sacred obligation of citizenship. To those of you who don't know, our country has never been served by a more competent and professional military. For that reason, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent statement that "we" made the "right strategic decisions" but made thousands of "tactical errors" is an outrage. It reflects an effort to obscure gross errors in strategy by shifting the blame for failure to those who have been resolute in fighting. The truth is, our forces are successful in spite of the strategic guidance they receive, not because of it.

General Newbold challenges our military officers to be real leaders and “give voice to those who can’t”.  As he points out, the enlisted are sworn to those appointed over them; an officer swears an oath to the Constitution.  Finally, he calls for the replacement of Secretary of Defense Donald “Six Days, Six Weeks, certainly not Six Months” Rumsfeld.

This general deserves our thanks not only for his service while in uniform but for his civilian service now.  

Justifying race-baiting after the fact? WTG, Neil!

I wonder if the DNC sent Neil Bortz any flowers?

I know I’m supposed be a knee-jerk supporter of all things Democrat but I’m going to add Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) to the list of Dems who would do the party greater service if she would just shut her trap. Stopped by Capitol security because the officer did not recognizer her, she then allegedly got into a scuffle with said officer and is now facing possible charges against her. And her response? Allegations of racism and sexism.

Left in the Reign does not deny that minorities and women still face challenges to their civil liberties and other unfair challenges. However, whenever spurious charges like those of Congresswoman McKinney are made, it weakens the case for more egregious offenses. I mean come on, Congresswoman! You were elected to create and enact the laws of this nation, one would think you could follow the simple rules of your place of employ and wear your freakin’ pin that identifies you as a lawmaker. Instead your ego has vaulted you to some sort of delusional diva status wherein you feel the officer simply should’ve known just who it was he was dealing with.

And then to bring in Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover for support? Well, let’s be honest, it’s lukewarm support at best.

Glover and Belafonte refrained from addressing the facts of the case and said they were there to support McKinney. Belafonte said he did not know what happened during the Wednesday incident but wanted to make sure the matter was handled on "a very fair and very square basis."

Added Glover, "We're not here to judge the merits of the case, but here to support our sister."

We’ve got real issues to fight out there and self-aggrandizing, primadona blowhards only serve to distract. I was sure it wouldn't be long before the right-wing noise machine would go after this. My concern was that the Dems and leftie bloggers would waste time trying to defend her. And then the plucky little Neil Boortz proves me right beyond measure.

What could possibly pull our attention from probably baseless race-baiting? Why, outright, up front racial slurs from the right-wingers! Thank you, Neil. Opining that the Congresswoman looked like "a ghetto slut" and "a welfare drag queen trying to sneak into the Longworth Office Building," Neil reminds us that we can't spell "Boortz" without spelling boor.

WTG!