The Media's Gas - Rumsfeld says, "This Too Shall Pass"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed confidence on Monday that the controversy over retired generals demanding his resignation will pass, and the White House emphasized its support for him.

Six retired generals, including two who commanded Army divisions in Iraq and one who headed efforts to train Iraqi security forces, have sharply criticized Rumsfeld, saying he disregarded military advice and ruled by intimidation.

"Well, you know, this, too, will pass," Rumsfeld said in a radio interview on Monday when asked about the retired generals and the news media attention given to their criticism.

President George W. Bush on Friday gave Rumsfeld an emphatic vote of confidence, saying that the 73-year-old Pentagon chief's "energetic and steady leadership is exactly what is needed at this critical period," and that he "has my full support and deepest appreciation."

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Monday, "There are many challenges that we face, and the president has tasked Secretary Rumsfeld and our commanders to meet those challenges, and they are meeting those challenges."

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I do not think Secretary Rumsfeld is overly worried about what the media is trying to play up with these few generals speaking out.

There will always be differing opinions on how things should run.
These few generals did not think Secretary Rumsfeld was doing this right, so they waited years to retire, then to speak out.

Meanwhile there are plenty of other generals, and other officers that fully support Secretary Rumsfeld.

Unfortunately though, the Media will only hype and play up the few that dissent, and we will barely hear of the ones that support.

Support is not news, but dissenting generals they can spin into a frenzy of media attention!

Asked how it felt to go from Washington sex symbol to having "practically the entire media jump on the case of these six generals demanding your ouster," Rumsfeld said, "You know, this, too, will pass."

"I think about it, and I must say, there's always two sides to these things, and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics," Rumsfeld said.

The attacks on Rumsfeld's leadership and military judgement have carried unusual weight because his critics include three recently retired senior commanders in Iraq and a former operations chief of the Joint Staff.

....

Four other retired generals, writing in The Wall Street Journal newspaper Monday, said it was inappropriate for active duty or retired officers to criticize the civilian leadership during a war.

"Calling for the secretary's resignation during wartime may undercut the US mission and incites individual challenge to the good order and discipline of our military culture," they wrote.

The four -- John Crosby, Thomas McInerney, Burton Moore and Paul Vallely -- said Rumsfeld was "arguably one of the most effective secretaries of defense our nation has ever had."

....

The Pentagon has long had a practice of briefing retired senior officers and experts with Washington think tanks but it intensified in 2003 when many of the so-called "armchair" generals were criticizing US tactics on television.

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Personally, I really consider this story a non-story.
I don't see it getting much traction in the public first of all.

Second, if the media was looking for any type of balance, they would be looking to both sides, and be including those that are in support of Secretary Rumsfeld.

I think the Secretary said it best with:

"I think about it, and I must say, there's always two sides to these things, and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics," Rumsfeld said.

Image Credit: Link

From Expose the Left:

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president knows as I know that there are no indispensable men. “The graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable people.” No, he knows that I serve at his pleasure, and that’s that.

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See Sanity's Related Posts:
LT Colonel of the US Army Responds

Putting 6 Retired Generals into Perspective


Others Blogging this issue:
Sister Toldjah, Expose the Left, Instapundit, JunkyardBlog, Flopping Aces, The Political Pit Bull, Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway, Don Surber, Big Lizards, David Limbaugh, Texas Rainmaker, Say Anything