I go to RedState on occasion to see what the opposition is saying. The Director's Editorial on Rumsfeld says a lot. It's so pathetic I have taken the time to put the salient points in a diary.
On the generals now speaking to Rumsfeld's incompetence and hubris...
Donald Rumsfeld rubs many the wrong way...These former officers are finding new support from a handful of weak-minded and easily-swayed conservatives...cheap and irresponsible second-guessing (by the generals) that does not befit any member of the armed forces, particularly in wartime."
I think William F. Buckley's head just exploded. He must be so ashamed of these so-called conservatives who equate losing ANOTHER war or long-term international instability with a policy dispute on...oh, say, wheat subsidies.
But here's where they get down to it, dismissing Abu Ghraib as a minor prison food fight instigated by a few guards...
During the fallout from Abu Ghraib, Secretary of Defense Donald...believed he ought to give the President the chance to hold the Secretary of Defense responsible, however removed from the events at issue, for the wrongful activity of a few soldiers. President Bush wisely refused these offers.
Um, guys...Gonzales wrote up the torture guidelines, and Bush approved them. Of course Bush refused his resignation. A policy directive does not accidentally land on the backs of "a few soldiers." You see, a presidential directive, or "policy" as we call it, infers that the nuts and bolts be put together by everyone under him, including Rummy. See how that works?
Now here's a good one:
Pentagon generals have fought more bureaucratic wars than hot wars. Internal institutional structures within the bureaucracy have been hardened. Rumsfeld has disrupted that balance and has engaged the United States is (sic) a real war...
Dear RedState Directors: Take a few extra neocons and go into an empty warehouse in Jersey with those six generals. You get to take weapons--they don't. You can even bring Rummy. They'll kick your fucking asses, then his. The first words out Rummy's mouth as y'all lay bloodied on the floor will be:
"Do we deserve to get our sorry asses kicked once in awhile? Sure. Do we speak for anyone but those who posted those still measly 122 comments?" I doubt it.
...we are willing to admit Donald Rumsfeld is not always right -- but no one is.
Not always right? Wow, there's generosity I've not seen since Mother Theresa. And finally, there's this:
If irritated DoD professionals and former members of the Pentagon bureaucracy is all it takes to oust a Defense Secretary - with an assist from grandstanding journalists, peaceniks in the streets, and ill-informed conservatives on the oped pages - then Washington is truly gone haywire.
MoronMike takes a few...deep...breaths.
Okay, RedStaters, time to take notes. Your guys fucked up and will not take responsibility for it, and they get you guys to regurgitate their talking points to a mostly fed up America. You're all going down in flames. Here's some more gasoline. At over three bucks a gallon, though, you'll have to share the can.