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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cnyndwllr who wrote (154316)	12/17/2004 8:08:58 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Bayh joins chorus for Rumsfeld’s ouster ______________________________ By Sylvia A. Smith Washington editor Posted on Fri, Dec. 17, 2004 fortwayne.com WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should step down, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said Thursday, ratcheting up his criticism after thinking more about what he saw and heard in Iraq this week. “Regrettably, I think enough mistakes have been made of enough significance that I don’t” have confidence in Rumsfeld, Bayh told NPR. “I have lost confidence in him.” Pushed as to whether he thinks President Bush’s defense secretary should resign, Bayh paused and then said, “I do.” White House spokesman Scott McClellan defended Rumsfeld. He said Bush “believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a great job, and that’s why he asked him to continue serving during this time of war.” Bayh is the latest in a series of senators – including several Republicans – who have criticized Rumsfeld. Calls for his resignation, however, have come only from Democratic lawmakers. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he has lost confidence in Rumsfeld. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said he hopes there is a new defense secretary “in the next year or so. I’m not calling for his resignation, but I think we do need a change at some point.” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, released a letter she wrote to Rumsfeld, describing his remarks about the lack of fortified Humvees in Iraq as “troubling.” Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said U.S. troops deserved more than Rumsfeld’s “flippant response” that “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want.” Sens. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Jon Corzine, D-N.J., have said Rumsfeld should step down. Bayh, McCain and Collins are members of the Armed Services Committee. Asked whether Bush is aware of the senators’ complaints, McClellan said, “We look at the news just as you do.” But he added, “I think that Secretary Rumsfeld continues to do a great job while we’re at war. We are a nation at war. We’re a nation at war on terrorism. The audio tape that came out earlier this morning (purportedly from Osama bin Laden) reminds us that we are nation at war. We must continue to use all means on all fronts to defeat the terrorists. And Secretary Rumsfeld is an important person in our efforts to prevail in this global struggle of ideologies.” In an interview with Indiana reporters Wednesday, Bayh said war planners made many errors in the Iraq war, which led to the deaths of U.S. soldiers. Asked whether he thought Rumsfeld should resign, Bayh said then: “I didn’t say that.” His spokeswoman, Meg Keck, said Bayh sharpened his assessment after thinking more about what he saw and heard in Iraq. Bayh said the “tragic mistakes” war planners, including Rumsfeld, made were: Not dispatching enough U.S. soldiers initially, which allowed violence to get out of hand; disbanding the Iraqi Army, which meant former soldiers were banished from rebuilding their country and eventually joined the insurgency out of frustration; and banning all members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party from participating in the government, even ordinary people who were forced to join just to get a job. He said they, too, ended up joining the resistance after being shut out of the nation’s rebuilding.