The first mistake was making Rumsfeld Sec. of Defense. The second was not firing Rumsfeld when Iraq turned into a debacle. Therefore, Rumfeld now needs to keep his mouth shut.
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Rumsfeld calls deadline for Iraq pullout a mistake
By Will Dunham
Reuters
Thursday, June 23, 2005; 10:37 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday it would be a mistake for U.S. lawmakers to set a timetable for pulling U.S. troops from Iraq because it would "throw a lifeline to terrorists."
During a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rumsfeld warned against withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq before American-trained Iraqi security forces are capable of protecting their own country.
A small bipartisan group of lawmakers last week proposed a congressional resolution calling on the Bush administration to develop a plan by the end of this year to pull out all American troops from Iraq and to begin the withdrawal by Oct. 1, 2006.
"Some in Congress have suggested that deadlines be set," Rumsfeld testified. "That would be a mistake ... It would throw a lifeline to terrorists, who in recent months have suffered significant losses in casualties, been denied havens, and suffered weakened popular support."
But the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, said a withdrawal deadline should not be ruled out.
"The Iraqis have approved a timetable for adopting a constitution: August 15th, with the possibility of one and only one six-month extension," Levin said.
"The United States needs to tell the Iraqis and the world that if that deadline is not met, we will review our position with all options open, including but not limited to setting a timetable for withdrawal," Levin said.
"We must demonstrate to the Iraqis that our willingness to bear the burden of providing security has limits. We have opened the door for the Iraqis at great cost, but only they can walk through it. We cannot hold that door open indefinitely," Levin added.
There has been growing discomfort with the Iraq war among some U.S. lawmakers, and support for the war by the American public has dropped in recent opinion surveys.
A key congressional Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, was quoted recently by U.S. News and World Report as saying the White House was "disconnected from reality" in its optimism over the war.
"Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse... It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq," Hagel said.
Without mentioning Hagel by name, Rumsfeld said, "Timing in war is never predictable. There are no guarantees. And any who say that we've lost this war or that we're losing this war are wrong. We are not."
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