Rumsfeld: "thousands and thousands of generals and admirals..."

[PurityOfEssence]

This is what he said: there are thousands and thousands of generals and admirals who haven't spoken out. THERE AREN'T THAT MANY!

(This clip also poo-poos dissent as only coming from "two", instead of the six.)

How many active "generals and admirals" are there? Surely there aren't THAT many. Does this not show the man as flouting statistics? For fun, doesn't it also show him as unable--or unwilling--to represent reality? Someone with this lack of grasp of reality certainly shouldn't be holding the reins of power, should he?

"Thousands and thousands" was the term. Nobody calls him on it. Why?

It would also be fun to find out just how many officers of this grade in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps (part of the Navy) and the Navy there really are. He makes a grandiose dismissal like this that can't have any basis in fact, and somehow it gets a pass.

How many are there? The intimation is that it's those still active. If not, it can't be any others than those recently active, since the tacit subject is those who would have a reasonable say.

What are the numbers?

[DS1]

1. We hardly even have that many field-officers, let alone flag officers

:eyes:

[leftchick]

2. Bill Bennett said there are 8000 generals!

is he out of GA yet?

[LA lady]

3. here is what I found 3100-6300

Not all of the Armed Services keep easily accessible records of their retired officers. The Marine Corps has online biographies for 400 retired generals (of all ranks). According to the Department of Defense, the Marine Corps has 82 generals on active duty. The Air Force keeps a partial list of online biographies, which includes 86 retired generals. There are 13 active-duty generals in the Air Force.

The Explainer used the ratios above to estimate the number of retired generals in the other military branches. The Army—which currently has 312 generals—should have between 1,100 and 2,200 retired generals. According to the Army's press office, the number is about 1,700

By the same logic, there are probably between 750 and 1,500 retired admirals in the Navy and between 1,000 and 2,000 retired generals (of all ranks) in the Air Force. In total, then, you might expect somewhere between 3,100 and 6,300 retired generals and admirals.

[lyonn]

6. Humm? These figure don't seem to reflect what Rummy states.

Doesn't appear to get close.

[PurityOfEssence]

13. Yes, but the intimation is that these are recently retired or active ones

It's just crap. It's just the same old bluff and bluster that goes unquestioned by the corporate media. There simply aren't "thousands and thousands of generals and admirals" who choose to not speak out. Many still living are long since retired, and simply don't pass the tacit test he's applying; to add up the rest who are either serving or recently retired (and thus privy to the pertinent events) one can hardly scrape up myriads of thousands who stand by the strutting little asshole from moneyville.

Thousands and thousands. Why isn't this guy called into account for his aggressive fiction? We nick him here and there for getting this or that wrong, but he puffs up and bullies with his tiresome self-indulgent rhetorical questions that he asks himself and answers with such gloating dismissal of the peons who might disagree. He is the epitome of the raging and unquenchable greedhead on a quest to subjugate all as inferiors.

What crap.

[lyonn]

4. Dismissal and Disrespectful

Rummy has gotten by with these tactics from day one. Pure arrogance and lack of respect for the american people. Why should he treat the military any different?

[gulliver]

5. Maybe he should do an anonymous poll then?

Maybe the media should.

[katinmn]

7. Well, I hope they rise to the challenge and speak up!

However, active duty military risk losing everything if they criticize the leadership.

[0007]

15. The West Point Cadets spoke out.

[katinmn]

19. I missed that.

When did that come out?

It's mind boggling thinking about all the experts that have denounced the Decider over the past couple years:

Professors Emeritas of Economics
Professors of American History
Constitutional scholars
Physicians, scientists, teachers, environmentalists, human rights watchdogs, religious leaders....

It seems like the whole country is against Junior, and yet he sits there, never held accountable by the only people that can stop him.

[Rockholm]

20. Maybe a military coup?

It seems to work in other Banana Republics.

[cliss]

8. It's a good point.

This man is so used to saying just about anything, that he's become delusional. I truly believe that.

He feels that if he says something often enough, it becomes true. At least in his own mind. Time to get the men in their white coats....

[mcscajun]

9. Is this the same "thousands" that Condoleeza Rice used to talk

about the "errors" made in Iraq, and then backpedaled like crazy on?

Interesting grasp of mathematics these Bushites have. Emphasis on SHITES.

[librechik]

10. somebody here looked it up in the US Census: 853 Generals

or thereabouts.

[Jai4WKC08]

12. That's the number on active duty n/t

[northofdenali]

11. Straight from the horse's moutn (US Army, that is) as of 2004:

Active-Duty by Grade
Number Percent
Commissioned Officer 68,634 13.9%
Warrant 12,142 2.4%
Enlisted 413,515 83.7%

http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/Demographics.asp

The site does not break the Commissioned Officer figure out by rank.

[T Roosevelt]

14. Yes, there are thousands...BUT

the important points to remember are these:

1. the number of generals who held command in Iraq is very very small

2. these 5-6 of these revolting generals were top commanders in the war

[IndianaGreen]

16. I think Rumsfeld included the ones buried in national cemeteries

[Jack Rabbit]

17. thousands and thousands of generals and admirals

He probably learned to count from Katherine Harris.

[saltpoint]

18. I think Uncle Don's getting carried away with this Chisenbop thing.

(It's Korean finger math. Not sure if that's how to spell it.)