Rumsfeld is Resigning!!!! - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Botnst · #61 11-10-2006, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

perhaps bush will now say that the war was all rummy's fault. and can now move on and get us out and leave rummy to take the fall for the war....

At least in some variation, count on it.

retmil46 · #62 11-10-2006, 02:21 AM

Have a book that I originally picked up 15 years ago, "Shooting Blanks" by James F. Dunnigan. The basic premise of the book is that wars are usually won, not by one side getting everything right, but by the side that makes the least mistakes, both in number and severity.

One part of the book details how in nearly every major war, no matter which side, within the first six months there is a high turnover rate amongst battlefield and senior commanders, which then settles down to a much lower level.

The reason for this is that the skill set usually required to rise to the upper levels of a peacetime military that hasn't seen major combat in a generation or so - political finess, spit and polish, blindly following regs, shuffling paperwork, who you know and who you, uhh..... you get the idea - are for the most part the polar opposite of what you need in a successful combat commander.

This high turnover rate is basically due to OJT - those who can't switch gears from peacetime ticket-puncher to kick-butt warfighter are relieved and replaced with honest-to-god warriors.

I think that this may have been part of Rummy's downfall. While his authoritarian, my way or the highway, stick to the plan or get sacked, methods may have been well suited to bulldozing thru a major reorganization of a peacetime military, it was the wrong set of skills to fight a multifaceted war where the situation is ever-changing.

In short, he couldn't make the switch from peacetime administrator to wartime commander, and like others before who couldn't make the transition, he's getting relieved of command.

retmil46 · #63 11-10-2006, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MedMech

Good riddance to the egomaniac political whore.

Really now, that's a little strong. Don't you think you should apologize, to all the hard-working ladies of the evening you just insulted by comparing them to Rumsfeld?

#64 11-10-2006, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmil46

Really now, that's a little strong. Don't you think you should apologize, to all the hard-working ladies of the evening you just insulted by comparing them to Rumsfeld?

I do put my money where my mouth is; when rummy was pinning the Purple Heart and another very prestigious award to my brother I choose to stay home for the ceremony. My brother understood so there was no problem there but everyone was commenting on "he was such a nice guy" which isn't enough for me.

Botnst · #65 11-10-2006, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A264172

From what I have heard, his master, whomever that may be, asked for a way to get rid of Sadam. And what we got, is what Rummy gave him.
Rummy picked and chose the plan, rejected documented advice, and if he felt there was a problem, he had the oppourtunity to say so. Maybe his master said "Don, I know you think we can't win this thing, but I need you to prosecute it anyway." but I doubt it.

Rumsfeld followed the advice one set of brass and did not follow the advice of another set of advice. It is easy to find folks on the losing side -- they are the ones on the outside looking. In general, people with a grievance who lost a bureaucratic fight always seek explanations outside of themselves. Sometimes they are right and sometimes not. History chooses winners and losers.

One way to look at it is like this: Honorable, strong men chose retirement in bureaucratic defeat than to fight for a plan that was flawed to begin with. From the safety of retirement they can exert influence more effectively. This POV naturally explains that the people who won the bureaucratic fight stayed in the military are merely automatons without the spine for a fight are there to do little more than rubber-stamp and draw paycheck.

#66 11-10-2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackE55

Who is designated to pin purple hearts?

Any officer, but this one was special and I probably should not have posted that comment.

A264172 · #67 11-10-2006, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Botnst

Rumsfeld followed the advice one set of brass and did not follow the advice of another set of advice. It is easy to find folks on the losing side -- they are the ones on the outside looking. In general, people with a grievance who lost a bureaucratic fight always seek explanations outside of themselves. Sometimes they are right and sometimes not. History chooses winners and losers.

One way to look at it is like this: Honorable, strong men chose retirement in bureaucratic defeat than to fight for a plan that was flawed to begin with. From the safety of retirement they can exert influence more effectively. This POV naturally explains that the people who won the bureaucratic fight stayed in the military are merely automatons without the spine for a fight are there to do little more than rubber-stamp and draw paycheck.

I suppose if the goal had actually been to find/remove WMD's the war plan that 'won' would have been considered a success. The US Government goal since 98', has been regieme change we have been told. Yet they chose to go in to the game without enough men to secure the adjacent borders of two neighboring states that are known to HATE the US and use terrorism as currency.

You asked the question "...whether impeachment will be forthcoming".
I don't know if idiocy is impeachable, but I do think that some late 90's think tank types could have used a few of those 'code reds' that I heard about in 'that movie'.

retmil46 · #68 11-10-2006, 01:08 PM

Figured MM might like this one.

Click image for larger version

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#69 11-10-2006, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmil46

Figured MM might like this one.
Attachment 37872

Perfect.