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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (213597)	12/19/2004 4:35:36 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1578187

Rumsfeld honeymoon is over What happened to the honeymoon for Donald Rumsfeld? No sooner did President Bush ask the secretary of defense to stay on for a second term when, suddenly, Rumsfeld is the target of bipartisan criticism. The solid support Rumsfeld seemed to enjoy from Republicans during the presidential campaign has given way. Rumsfeld brought some of this opposition upon himself and should heed the call of critics who say he has been dismissive to generals and privates alike and inflexible about adjusting his war plans. In response to a soldier in Kuwait who asked why he and his unit were having to forage through dumps to outfit their vehicles with armor as they head to Iraq, Rumsfeld responded, "You go to war with the army you have ... not the army you might want or wish to have." The dismissive response to a soldier heading to the front lines was an arrogant mistake, and it brought out daggers from Republicans as well as Democrats. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said American soldiers deserved more than a "flippant" response. More generally, the many missteps of Iraq war planning have much of Washington wondering how the United States is going to get out of the mess, and whether Rumsfeld is the guy to do it. Arizona Sen. John McCain - like Hagel, a veteran whose voice is influential in many circles - said he has "no confidence" in Rumsfeld when it comes to Iraq. Even conservative Sen. Trent Lott looked down the road into 2005 and imagined Rumsfeld back in private life. "I'm not a fan of Secretary Rumsfeld. ... I don't think he listens enough to his uniformed officers," the Mississippi senator said this week. "I would like to see a change in that slot in the next year or so." Other senators who have trained their guns on Rumsfeld include Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana. Bayh said Rumsfeld has not shown he could learn from his mistakes in handling the Iraq war. "Regrettably, I think enough mistakes have been made of enough significance that ... I have lost confidence in him," he told National Public Radio. The president sees things differently. White House press secretary Scott McClellan 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." Rumsfeld, unmoved by the tumult, let his delusions of grandeur speak for himself, saying, "George Washington was constantly criticized, John Adams was constantly criticized, Abraham Lincoln was vilified and criticized, and our country's always survived it." denverpost.com