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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Is the glass half full? Was the defense secretary half-right?

This is an interesting article about Donald Rumsfeld. Draw your own conclusions. I think history will judge him with a great deal of ambivalence.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A few Rumsfeld statements that showed he may not have fully understood the conflict and a lack of leadership:

He claimed the United States was doing everything it could to "shoot around" the civilians and that "smart" weapons can pinpoint targets to protect civilians.

Hummers sold on the civilian market was a sign Rumsfeld and the administration were not serious about marshaling resources for war.

An almost complete lack of a request for service and sacrifice on the part of Americans showed the Bush government's lack of leadership.

Spain intercepted weapons being shipped from North Korea to Yemen. The United States allowed it to go through, after N Korea was labeled part of an Axis of Evil. Spain dropped out of the anti-terror war to a large extent soon after.

Allowing para-military groups to form and to patrol America's borders showed a potentially dangerous flaw in national defense policy.

War is a short term solution to a long term problem. The administration has done very little to address long-term socio-economic concerns.

War profiteering,corruption, and no-bid contracts will be a legacy of this administration. Leaders should be investigated and tried after their terms are over, including cabinet members, vice-president, and president.

A stronger outcry by education, the media, religious leaders, social leaders, and politicians could have prevented armed conflict. The results of armed conflict cannot be laid entirely on top leaders such as Rumsfeld.