Disgruntled "Generals Criticize Handling of Iraq War"

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http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june06/iraq_4-13.html


Generals Criticize Handling of Iraq War
Several former generals have recently made public comments critical of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld -- the principal architect of the Iraq war strategy. Jim Lehrer speaks with one of the critics, retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, about his comments that the Defense Department needs "a fresh start."


GENERALS SPEAK OUT ON IRAQ

April 13, 2006
Several former generals have criticized Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on his Iraq war strategy. Retired Major General John Batiste comments.

KWAME HOLMAN: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the principal architect of the Iraq war strategy, has found himself this week in an unusual spot: the object of fire from several of his former generals.Their fire has been directed at Rumsfeld's handling of the war, and it has been accompanied by calls for his resignation. Among the retired generals going public: Major General John Batiste, who commanded an Army division in Iraq before he retired and said in an interview yesterday that he thought the Defense Department needed "a fresh start." Army Major General Paul Eaton, who oversaw the training of Iraqi army troops in 2003 and 2004 before retiring, has been critical of Rumsfeld, as has Retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni, the former commander of CENTCOM, the Central Command.

GEN. ANTHONY ZINNI, Former Commander, U.S. Central Command: I believe the civilian leadership in the Pentagon ignored the advice. This advice was not just coming from me, these warnings, but other former commanders at U.S. Central Command.

KWAME HOLMAN: Also getting wide attention was the criticism by Retired Marine Lieutenant General Gregory Newbold. He was director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff for two years until shortly before the Iraq invasion. In an opinion article in Time magazine this week, Newbold criticized Rumsfeld and other top officials for snuffing out dissenting voices, saying, quote, "The consequence of the military's quiescence was that a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war." And it was Newbold's critique that brought a public Pentagon response. On Tuesday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace said no officers were muzzled in the lead-up to the Iraq invasion.

Why come out now?
JIM LEHRER: And late today, two more retired Army generals called for Rumsfeld's resignation. They are Charles Swannack, the former commander of the 82nd Airborne, and John Riggs, who had publicly tangled with Rumsfeld while he worked at the Pentagon. And now to Retired Major General John Batiste. He's a West Point graduate who retired last year after 31 years in the Army. He commanded the Army's First Infantry Division, both in Iraq and in Kosovo. Before that, he was the senior military assistant to then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. He's now president of Klein Steel Services.

JIM LEHRER: General, what's going on? What's caused all of you to come out the way you have right now?

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: Well, I can speak for myself, Jim. I'm a private citizen and an old soldier, and I'm very disturbed with the past five years in the Department of Defense. As I said yesterday morning on CNN, I think the military deserves leadership that understands teamwork and builds strong teams without resorting to intimidation. I think respect is a two-way street; the respect given from the military to the senior civilians ought to be reciprocated. I think the current administration repeatedly ignored sound military advice and counsel with respect to the war plans. I think that the principles of war are fundamental, and we violate those at our own peril. And military leaders of all ranks, particularly the senior military, have an obligation in a democracy to say something about it.


JIM LEHRER: So where do you fit Don Rumsfeld into that then? He's one person. Everybody wants him to -- you guys want him to go. So what are you saying to me?

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: I think an honorable man would take account, be responsible for what he did, and step down.

JIM LEHRER: What would you say to a skeptic who would say, "Wait a minute, General. One secretary of defense is solely responsible for everything that's gone wrong in Iraq, and there is nothing that any of you military leaders could do about it on the ground?"

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: I didn't say that. What I'm saying is that the strategic underpinnings of this war can be traced back in policy to the secretary of defense. He built it the way he wanted it.

JIM LEHRER: Do you expect Secretary Rumsfeld to do what you want him to do?

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: I have no idea.

JIM LEHRER: I mean, do you...

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: He's his own man.

JIM LEHRER: Is that a bottom line for you? Have you talked to these other generals about this? Is this an organized effort?

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: You know, surprisingly, it's not, not at all. We haven't talked; this is all spontaneous.

JIM LEHRER: Did you talk about it at the time when you were on active duty in private?

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE: Sure. We were all disgruntled.

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