The Guardian (Monday): Rumsfeld singled out as crisis deepens in Iraq

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Guardian Unlimited (London)
Dated Monday, March 20

Rumsfeld singled out as crisis deepens in Iraq
· Defence chief attacked on war's third anniversary
· Ex-PM Allawi says conflict is tantamount to civil war
By Julian Borger in Washington and Jonathan Steele in Amman

A former US army general yesterday called for Donald Rumsfeld to resign on grounds of incompetence in Iraq, hours after Ayad Allawi, the former US-backed Iraqi prime minister, declared the country to be in the thick of a civil war that could soon "reach the point of no return".

Three years after Iraq was invaded, statistics published yesterday show that the frequency of insurgent bombings and group killings is growing, but both Mr Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, and George Bush have vowed to fight on . . . .

The US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, said that the troop withdrawals he had forecast for this spring or summer might have to wait until the end of the year or even 2007. And Paul Eaton, a former American army general in charge of training Iraqi forces until 2004, marked the anniversary with a furious attack on Mr Rumsfeld, saying he was "not competent to lead our armed forces".

In London, Mr Allawi told BBC 2's Sunday AM programme: "We are losing each day, as an average, 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."

Read more.

[redphish]

1. This is what happens when your arrogance...

makes you think you can run a war better than the folks that train for it for a whole career. The professionals that told him this wasn't going to work in the beginning were replaced with more pliant yes-men and we're seeing the results now.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. And Rummy probably has more military experience . . .

. . . than the other Pentagon suits (most of whom avoided service while cheering on the Vietnam War).

Speaking of Vietnam, Rumsfeld is learning the same lesson Robert McNamara learned the same way: hard.

Since the US isn't winning this war and it doesn't look loke the Iraqi people are, either, the only clear winner I see is the Powell Doctrine. That survived Rummy's onslaught in tact.

[spindrifter]

4. This is also what happens when

you have a fundamental ignorance of the cultural factors at work in a country. We actually do have people who know the issues. We also know where in the world there are other scholars who have a depth of knowledge about Iraq that should have been sought. But we had a "mission" to accomplish. Such shallow, foolish people who have caused untold harm to the lives of so many.

[redphish]

5. Too true

[Jack Rabbit]

6. That also sounds like Vietnam

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
-- George Santayana (1863-1952)

[spindrifter]

7. Yes, even

though Vietnam was the backdrop for these guys when they came of age, they have not sought to understand any aspect of it.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. They were fighting their war even then

Class war, that is. They, the spoiled children of the upper class, would go to Yale so they would "prepared" to lead the country into new righteous wars in which the children of poor neighborhoods would be used as cannon fodder.

[BrotherBuzz]

2. 'Vowed to fight on' reminds me of 'Waist Deep In The Big Muddy'

Waist Deep In The Big Muddy

by Pete Seeger

It was back in 1942, I was part of a good platoon
We were on manoeuvres in Louisiana one night by the light of the moon
The Captain said, We got to ford the river, that's where it all began
We were knee deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

The Sergeant said, Sir, are you sure this is the way back to base
Sergeant, I once crossed this river not a mile above this place
It'll be a little soggy but we'll keep on slogging, we'll soon be on dry ground
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

Captain, sir, with all this gear no man will be able to swim
Sergeant, don't be a nervous nellie, the Captain said to him
All we need is a little determination, follow me - I'll lead on
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on

All of a sudden the moon clouded over, all we heard was a gurgling cry
And a second later the Captain's helmet was all that floated by
The Sergeant said, Turn round, men, I'm in charge from now
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the Captain dead and gone

We stripped and dived and found his body stuck in the old quicksand
I guess he didn't know the water was deeper than the place where he'd once been
For another stream had joined the Muddy a half mile from where we'd gone
We were lucky to get out of the Big Muddy
When the damn fool kept yelling to push on

I don't want to draw conclusions, I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, maybe you're still talking
But every time I hear the news that old feeling comes back on
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on

Knee deep in the Big Muddy
And the fools keep yelling, Push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling, Push on
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on

[ClayZ]

9. Peace not War .... Jukebox (hours of anti-war music for free)

http://www.peace-not-war.org/

The Peace Jukebox plays hours of anti-war music for free. Songs written during the Bush Presidency can be heard as high-quality MP3s, with lyrics, on this ad-free independent website. The Peace Jukebox features anti-war songs by Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Jurassic 5, Public Enemy, Jane's Addiction, The Cure, Ani DiFranco, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Faithless, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Lenny Kravitz, Paris, System of a Down, Propagandhi, Banco de Gaia, Zach de la Rocha, Noam Chomsky... hiphop, rock, punk, acoustic, classical and spoken word.

[donco6]

11. Ain't that the truth.

Good song, and very timely.

[Nikki Stone 1]

10. The army has lots of reasons to want Rumsfeld gone

The fact that he's destroying it by privatization is even more important than losing the war in Iraq.

[Disturbed]

12. Rumsfailed is a War Criminal and an Imcompetent Fool.

Rumsfailed Admitted to Violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public on TV that when CIA Director Tenet requested that an Iraqi prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act. Rumsfailed then ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graihib but the prisoner was purposefully not listed at that location, also an illegal act. Rumsfeld also admitted to signing orders for tougher interogation methods which violated the Geneva Conventions.

Rumfailed has commited at least three violations of the Geneva Convention thereby also violations of The Constitution of the USA. Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfailed and Tenet have not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Rep. Rangle's Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfailed and also prosecute Ex. CIA Tenet.

The US, Govt., Congress, and the Justice Dept no longer abide by the Geneva Convention or the Constitution of the USA.Admitted to Violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public on TV that when CIA Director Tenet requested that an Iraqi prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act. Rumsfailed then ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graihib but the prisoner was purposefully not listed at that location, also an illegal act. Rumsfeld also admitted to signing orders for tougher interogation methods which violated the Geneva Conventions.

Rumfailed has commited at least three violations of the Geneva Convention thereby also violations of The Constitution of the USA. Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfailed and Tenet have not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Rep. Rangle's Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfailed and also prosecute Ex. CIA Tenet.

The US, Govt., Congress, and the Justice Dept no longer abide by the Geneva Convention or the Constitution of the USA.