Troubles in Iraq Dim Rumsfeld's Star, but He Fights Back

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 — Only a few months after basking in the military's swift victory over Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld seemed to be on the defensive today after absorbing criticism from several sides over the Pentagon's planning for postwar Iraq.

Even some of Mr. Rumsfeld's supporters acknowledged today that his star, at least for the moment, had lost a little luster.

"A high water mark for Rumsfeld was the period when they were winning decisively," said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and an informal adviser to Mr. Rumsfeld. "Now, he has a little bit less aura than in that period."

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat on the Armed Services Committee and a former officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, put it more bluntly: "Rumsfeld's been diminished."

(snip)

While Mr. Rumsfeld's once sky-high standing may have been taken down a notch or two in the messy postwar period, even his critics acknowledge that he is in no danger of losing his job or the confidence of Mr. Bush.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2003/09/09/international/middleeast/09RUMS.html

and the other in a beartrap

this old bastard is going to crack, crack, crack
he should have taken his 242 million and left
but, now, the only news conferences he'll be doing after 2004 will be from prison.

warning: reading this thread is unpatriotic. please contact your local TIPS coordinator and turn yourself in.

welcome to the DU! :D

Now if he'll only start posting some cartoons:D

I thought he just wore a dunce cap :dunce: and a swastika.

That we are seeing and hearing less of and from the Old Reprobate, of late? If he is, as I think he is, Bipolar 1, he might be in a down cycle right now.

Either that or he is being prepared to "spend more time with his family". Poor family. Must be like living with an ADHD kid after he eats 3 boxes of chocolates and 5 pounds of sugar.

Rumsfeld seems to have fallen out of favor.

But, where is Dick Cheney? THAT guy is really in a down cycle.

Bathing in the blood of virgins.

The recycled from "Poppy" SecDef and his neo-con partners in crime are at a crossroads, and more dangerous than ever. Watch for another "attack" to justify a continuation of "pre-emptive" war. I'm not sure if they have the muscle to pull it off, and the CIA might not be as impressed with the lot as in months past... but anthrax is butt cheap and easily deliverable.

I am absolutely ecstatic to see the whole cabal "circling their wagons" though. Pax Americana is and was a very bad idea.

In a perfect world, Rummy and "Comical Ali" should be the best of friends, kindred spirits. They are both full of shit when it comes to reporting on their sides progress in the current foul litterbox that is Iraq.

So, anyone out there have any doubts regarding the immense mass graves so thouroughly reported the past few months? I remembr how hard it was to get any info on the casualties in the first installment of this bit of international relations gone awry. That Highway of Death thing may have filled up some holes in the ground with corpses.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

:D

always bizarre stuff from our Reichmarshall
http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030906-secdef0654.html

Yeah thats like saying Bush is asking for a "little more" money for Iraq.