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Rumsfeld: 'I worry we are in a gathering storm'
 Its fair to say that [the President] is faced - the country is faced - with a situation in which, because of the nature of the struggle and the fact that it is not well-understood by the American people, the president has the task of managing and maintaining sufficient support for the things he believes are necessary for our countrys safety. He has to take into account the reality that only if we persevere do we have an opportunity to succeed. The penalties and consequences of failure are so dire for the country that he has to recognize the center of gravity of this struggle, [which,] while to some extent is in the Middle East, is [also], in a very real sense, here in the United States of America. He has to take that into account in reviewing and considering the variety of proposals and suggestions he has received.If you ask me my view, it is that the military cant lose, but the military cant win alone. It requires political solutions. Theyve got to have reconciliation. They simply have to take a series of steps that theyve not yet sufficiently taken. Set aside World War I and set aside World War II. Think more of the Cold War. At any given moment during the Cold War, which lasted 50 years, you couldnt say if you were winning or losing. The Civil War, as well. There arent straight and smooth paths. There are bumpy roads. Its difficult. The enemy has a brain. Theyre constantly making adjustments. Think of the faces of the Cold War when Euro-communism was in vogue, and people were demonstrating by the millions against the United States, not against the Soviet Union. And yet, over time, people found the will - both political parties and Western European countries - to persist in a way that ultimately led to victory. The circumstance we are in today is more like that than it is like World War II. People are going to have to get more familiar with that idea. Its not a happy prospect. There are people in the world who are determined to destabilize modern Muslim regimes and re-establish a caliphate across the globe, and anyone who wants to know about it can go on the Internet and read their own words and what their intent is. Theyre deadly. Theyre not going to surrender. Theyre going to have to be captured or killed. Theyre going to have to be dissuaded; people are going to have to be dissuaded from supporting them, from financing them and assisting in their recruitment, providing havens for them. Were in an environment where we have to fight and win a war where the enemy is in countries we are not at war with. That is a very complicated thing to do. It doesnt happen fast. Posted by: KBK 2006-12-16 |
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